Kinda Kyouya's
by Hannan
Summary: What if Haruhi's debt was much more serious than any of the others could imagine? What if Kyouya controlled more than the others thought? STRONGLY KYOU/HARU, with trace elements of other pairings. Beware! Random smut!
1. Yen

It had been laughter that had started the whole thing. Barely enough to attract attention, but Kyoya heard something and it was niggling at him to figure out what was going on. He was, after all, the one who knew _everything_.

Which is why an unfamiliar emotion; _confusion_; washed over him at the sight in front of him when stepped into that alley. _(Fateful thing)_

Yes, the illegal slave trading market had been flourishing lately, but most people kept these types of dealings secret. Which is why seeing the girl, naked, surrounded by five or six boys was a bit surprising.

He knew the police wouldn't try to stop the boys. Trying to separate slaves from their masters was dangerous because the slave market was almost entirely run by mobsters. The girl was glaring at the ground, rubbing her neck with one hand and pressing herself into the wall of the laundromat tensely.

Kyoya stepped out of sight to assess the situation. With one eye around the corner, he could see the leader of the boys stepping up to her. It was slight, but Kyoya caught her shiver with the boy's motion.

She kept glaring at the ground. Eye contact was absolutely taboo, but so was showing negative emotion. _Impressive_, Ootori thought, adjusting his glasses. And he couldn't help but notice the girl's... assets. _However small, one must always consider each of one's beneficial attributes. I suppose it's time for me to step in. _

He stepped into view. The leader was running his fingers along the girl's hip, the whole group laughing and moving in. She was gritting her teeth and absolutely _seething_, grunts escaping and convincing Kyoya of his decision.

"Excuse me, gentlemen," He said, clearing his throat and smiling cordially. The girl thrust her eyes to his desperately, (laced with anger, but still desperate), the boys turned one by one. The leader, the most annoyed, only looked to where Kyoya stood. (After realizing her mistake, she had averted her eyes quickly, biting her lip)

Kyoya continued anyway, "But I believe I could make you an offer for that girl that would make you quite a bit happier than a simple release now would."

The leader turned from Kyoya to look dumbly at the girl. "I doubt it, dude. She's freaking hot."

He smirked. This kid was no business man, and the girl _almost_ looked like she was going to roll her eyes. Actually she looked like she wanted to claw _the boy's_ eyes out. "Besides," the boy continued, looking around to his cronies for backup, "how can a kid like you afford a fine toy like this? I just bought her and I couldn't have done it myself." His gang all laughed along with him, mutters about 'stupid pretty boys'. The leader grabbed the girl roughly and shoved her behind him. Even though he couldn't see her completely, Kyoya could tell she was shaking.

"Nonsense," he said, pushing his glasses up with one hand and gesturing broadly with the other. "How much did you pay for her?"

"6,000,000 yen, dude." He smirked, obviously thinking he had outdone Kyoya. (Already) _I doubt if he can barter at all, this one. _Kyoya had a quick mental image of the kid picking his nose and drooling stupidly. He smirked. _I'd wager he's never aced a test in school once in his life. _

So without a second thought, he countered, "I will pay you 7,000,000 if you hand her and her papers over immediately."

"7,500,000."

"7,600,000."

The kid was practically drooling now, causing Kyoya's mental picture to get clearer. He stammered for a second before he yelled excitedly, "Nine million! I won't take any less!" He said, his tiny brain spinning at the calculations. One of the cronies whistled. _I bet they've never even _thought_ of so much money at once. _

_And this turned into a bidding war with no warning_, Kyoya thought, smirking to himself and pulling out his pocket book. _Although I should have expected him to lie and say he paid something higher, like 20 or 30 million, I don't think he's capable of such a high concept. This, however, is just a __drop in the bucket compared to some of the servants we've bought before. _ Not that the Ootori's did anything _against _the law... they just worked _with_ the law to make life better."Eight million. And be glad that I don't report you to the police for public indecency."

His pants were unzipped. He blushed brightly, gruffly barking, "Fine! Eight. But you have to pay me now."

Some of the accomplices began to grumble. "Boss, you said we'd get some action!" One whined, glancing at the girl on the ground like a child without ice cream.

"Be quiet and be glad I let you come at all." The Boss said, digging through his pockets.

Kyoya ripped off a check and traded it for the certificate of purchase. He nodded at the boys, smiling, "Pleasure doing business with you gentlemen." And turned to the girl. "Do you have any clothes with you?"

She glanced at the boys, her expression unreadable and barely more than emotionless. "No."

Without hesitating, Kyoya pulled his jacket off his shoulders and gave it to her, motioning for her to button it and guided her away from the group. He flipped out his cell phone and gave his driver directions to where they were, then turned to her when they were a safe distance away. "What's your name?"

She was sulking. _Sulking? I just rescued her from a gang rape!_ A strange look crossed her face. "...Haruhi."

"Haruhi, were you harmed just now?" He was ready for any answer at this point, as he had very little background to go off of how she would respond to different circumstances.

She paused for a moment, still wearing that expression, which was getting a bit obnoxious. "...Only if you would like me to have been, my lord."

Kyoya had picked a spot to wait that was ideal for their continued absense of running into those boys again, and seeing the road to watch for his driver. His brow furrowed thoughtfully. "That is quite the opposite reason to why I asked you that question, Miss Haruhi. May I call you Haruhi?"

Still not looking at him, she rolled her eyes. "My place is not to tell you what you may or may not call me, my lord."

"Using that tone is not the best choice for you, Miss Haruhi. I'd suggest you try something more suitable for your situation."

"Whore?"

Her bluntness surprised not only him, but her as well. However red she was turning, he always had an answer for everything.

He adjusted his glasses. "Not necessarily. My name is Ootori Kyoya. Please, you may stop with the 'my lord' business."

"What should I call you?"

He considered this. "Master in private. I suppose Kyoya-sempai will have to do in public as I cannot have my name ruined. Also you have not answered my question straightforward enough to my liking. Did they or did they not hurt you?" He angled his eyes over to her, gauging her answer.

She wrapped the coat tighter around herself, kicking at a pebble with her bare foot. "Not yet. He'd just gotten my papers."

"There's my car."

The brunette looked at the car, than back at Kyoya and finally settled on the ground by her feet. "So?"

_She really has no manners_. "I need to take you back to my home before I continue with my day. Are you ready?"

Haruhi kicked a bit and sighed. "I suppose..."

Kyoya was losing patience. "But what? Just get in the car. We'll talk about whatever it is on the way."

She glared at the car door. "But I'm not allowed in cars!"

He'd heard about the slave industry becoming harsher with their rules about what was proper, but _cars? _That was just getting ridiculous. _What do they expect? Her to run? _"I need you to change your thinking, then. I am your master and I am telling you right now that you are allowed in this car."

Her expression was unreadable. She looked at Kyoya's chest, the closest thing she could otherwise from his face. "As an expression of...?"

He took her by the shoulders and put her in the car. "An expression of sensibility. Getting you home by car is the fastest way when I shall need the car again soon. They will direct you to my room and you can wait for me there." He adjusted his glasses and began to shut the door.

A hand rushed up to halt it. "... But you're not coming?" She still didn't look at him, but she was wearing a pinched expression that spoke a thousand words.

Kyoya gently took her hand and led it back to her own lap. "I have business around this area that I originally came for. I will complete it as fast as I can." He wanted to run his finger down her cheek. _Don't worry_.

So he closed the door and proceeded to the front of the car to give his driver directions. "My business won't take me long. Take her to the house and come back as soon as possible."

"As you wish, young master."

The car pulled away and Kyoya watched it from behind shiny glasses. _What have I done?_

* * *

><p><em>AN: Revising most chapters. Chapter one is now completed. BD_


	2. Nap

Haruhi rubbed her wrists nervously as the car pulled away from the curb. She watched the boy fade from view and swore to herself. _What have I got myself into? _She rubbed her temples and sighed angrily. _It was bad enough with those mob boys, but this one seems...smarter. Harder to handle._

She glanced around the car. _But HEY! Look at this sweet car! _She bounced in her seat a bit. _I haven't ridden in a car since... before. At least that's a good thing. _

It only took about twenty minutes before the car stopped in front of a grand mansion. The driver turned in his seat and smiled at her. "We're here, Miss. Welcome to the Ootori home."

She hugged her new master's coat around her tighter. "What happens now?"

The driver smiled. "Let me get your door; I'll show you to the room."

_Get my door? _She watched him come back to gracefully open her door. _He got my door!_ She stepped out, half smiling. _He got my door!_ _I suppose chivalry on the job still counts, eh? _

He offered his arm and Haruhi accepted it slowly. He smiled at her. "Calm down, Miss. Master Kyoya will take good care of you."

She looked at him and tried to believe it. Either way, the driver led her up the driveway and through extensive gardens to a side door. It opened into a huge sitting room, sprawling and obvious that it wasn't the only of the rooms in the wing.

Haruhi looked around, wide eyed. "Is this the living room?"

He laughed, leading her to two maids smiling on the side of the room. "This is the sitting room of Master Kyoya's wing. I'm not sure where you will be staying exactly, but he said to wait for him here." The driver bowed. "It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Haruhi. I hope I can see you again soon."  
>Taken back by his kind words, Haruhi managed a bob, (instead of a bow), and smiled at him. "Me too. I mean, yeah. Thank you."<p>

As the driver left, the maids began circling her, taking measurements quickly. "Sorry about this," one appologized, "but we have orders to get you a uniform right away."

The other patted Haruhi's head when they finished, promising to be back in a flash.

_I'm alone. _

It took about two seconds for her to run to the couch, testing it lightly then flop down on it like she'd never been allowed to sit down. _Even though nothing happened, that was humiliating. I'm so..._ she yawned, _tired. I should probably... move..._

Snore.

"Kyoya!" The call rang through the hallway as a blonde whirlwind danced into the youngest Ootori's wing of the house. "I had the most wonderful idea! What about putting Mori-sempai in-"

He stopped. "..."

_That's not Kyoya_, he thought, suddenly stopped and staring at the peacefully resting... _girl? _His face turned bright red, _Where are her pants? _

Looking around, the blonde tried to spot a servant he could ask what was going on, but no one was there. He looked back at the girl. She was sleeping on one of Kyoya's couches, her chest rising and falling rhythmically. _I wonder what she's doing here..._ he wondered, creeping closer step by step. _Is she a friend of Kyoya's? _

He reached the couch and looked at her. _Her hair is so pretty, ses cheveux sont si jolis, si beaux... si brillant__, _the French boy thought, reaching one finger down without thinking to touch it._ Comme de l'eau qui  
>coule, et tellement doux.".*<em>

"Nice of you to announce yourself, Tamaki.''

The French boy turned, laughing when he saw it was just his friend. "Kyoya!" He said, running to hug him, "Who is that girl?" He glanced over his shoulder, obviously still embarrassed at her trouser-less state.

Kyoya adjusted his glasses. "She's my brother-in-law's cousin. She is staying with us for the year while her family gets back on their feet." He lied effortlessly, with years of practice under his belt.  
>His friend's deep eyes lit up like a child. "That's wonderful! Will she be attending school with us, Kyoya? She must!" His expression changed to determined. "How else will we keep her safe, eh? She will! She must!" He tugged on his friend's sleeve.<p>

"She hadn't decided anything like that yet. I'll keep Ouran in mind when we discuss it, though."

Tamaki's espression lit up again and he bounced on his toes. "Perfect! I came over to see if you wanted to come shopping with me for Hunny-sempai's birthday? We could stop for sushi!" His almost-violet eyes flicked to the girl. "Would your brother-in-law's cousin enjoy an outing as well?"

Kyoya flinched. _No way in hell I'm letting her anywhere near you, my idiot. _''She's still very tired. I believe we should let her sleep for a while.'' He watched Tamaki's face cloud with disappointment and continued with, ''but I can come. Let me grab a few things then I'll meet you in your car.'' He threw his friend a look. ''Of which I'm assuming you brought with you?''

Instantly, he knew the blonde hadn't. ''Well,'' the boy said, flipping his blonde hair around, ''I kind of wanted to try walking. I was reading of the health benefits of walking, and you wouldn't believe it, Kyoya! We can keep weight off, and our skin will become radient! Even though I already am quite radient,'' he was gesturing wildly, posing himself and laughing, ''but a bit more radience could never hurt, right? Plus, it would be such a good experience to try!''

Tamaki turned and saw Kyoya on his cell phone. ''Kyoya,'' he asked, stepping up behind his friend. ''Who are you calling?''

''My driver. He can be here quite soon. Would you go get my black book? It's on my dresser.'' He wasn't looking, but he could very well imagine the dark cloud hovering over his friend as Tamaki dragged himself up to the bedroom, sulking they had to go by car. Kyoya flipped his cell phone shut and clicked over to the couch, shaking the girl's shoulder. ''Haruhi.'' He shook her again, impatient. ''Wake up. This is an order.''

Her chocolate-colored eyes opened slowly, blinking away sleep. ''Kyoya-sempai?''

He rolled his eyes internally. ''My friend Tamaki is here. Did you talk to him?''

She sat up too quickly, causing a dizzyness to overtake her and releasing a groan from her soft lips. ''Did he do something to me? I can't handle being pregnant. I wouldn't have fallen asleep in this,'' she motioned quickly to the coat, which was having a hard time hiding her private areas, ''if I knew someone was coming. Can I have some morning-after pills?''

With one finger, Kyoya pushed her into the couch, purposefully keeping the finger on her belly a second longer to change her focus. ''Tamaki wouldn't do anything like that. So you didn't talk to him?''

She shook her head, still avoiding eye contact and now blushing the slightest.

8''Good,'' he said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose with the same finger he'd just confused Haruhi with, ''I told him you are my brother-in-law's cousin. You are staying here for the school year because your family is having trouble getting back on their feet. Any questions?''

She blinked. ''No. Why are you lying to your friend?''

''I don't lie. Why aren't you wearing underwear?''

''The maids never brought back my uniform.''

''Lying would be saying that I didn't want to take you right now.''

She cocked her head. ''I suppose that's fairly resonable. You did just pay eight million yen for that right.''

Kyoya snorted softly and turned away.

''However,'' Haruhi continued, ''the honorable thing would be not to. You don't seem like you would do that anyway.''

He looked back up at her and shook his head. _Naive, even after almost being raped twice today._ He didn't want to admit he had almost been the second time. ''Make sure Tamaki doesn't see your hand. It has the tattoo on it.''

The girl glanced at it and nodded, tucking her hand in Kyoya's deep jacket pocket. Kyoya stood and began to turn away.

''So you didn't buy me as a whore.''

Kyoya didn't turn. ''You assume a lot for someone not allowed to be shown in public. Stay here while I'm gone.''

-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-.-..-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-...-...-...-...-...-...-.

*Tamaki's thought went like this in English:

_"Her hair is so pretty, so beautiful...So shiny... Her hair flows like water, so soft._" **Thank you kuromangafan for correcting me on the translation! Now it means the correct thing! XD**

I've always wondered if Tamaki thinks in French. What do you guys think? I mean, I guess since he did grow up there, he probably would. XD Either way, it sounds like something he'd do.

A/N: Hello! *waves* Glad for the response you guys have on the last chapter! Thanks for all the love!

Hopefully by the next chapter we'll be up to the first episode of the anime. I have a feeling you guys are really going to love it!

The only thing is, I'd really like to see some more input. The last chapter had three reviews, and I'd like to see about ten total before I post the next chapter. The catch is, if you all band together and review up a storm, I will post the next chapter as soon as you can hit those magic double digits. Yes? Fair? Otherwise, I'll probably post the next chapter by Friday or so.

PEACE AND LOVE AND HARMONY AND NUTELLA!1!

Hannah


	3. Chat

A/N: Meridith_Sock pointed out that Haruhi was taking being a slave a bit too easily, and I figure that's important to cover before you read any farther. =) From my perspective of this story, Haruhi has been in the slave underground market for a while now. While her spirit is not broken, she still has _had_ to be more subdued because of her situation, (which will, eventually, be explained). Haruhi is still the logical, level-headed girl we all know and love, but the logical thing to do in this situation is stay put/stay quiet(ish) to avoid badness from icky people. Also, some of this will be covered in this chapter. =)

...-...-...-.-.-...-...-...-...-...-.-.-.-.-...-...-

Kyoya returned to his suite a few hours later, thoroughly tired from Tamaki. He held his glasses by the stem in one hand and rubbed his eyes with the other. _He's an idiot, and he's my friend. But why does he have to be so exhausting? If I hadn't been with him, he may have damaged his name a few times over._ He sighed. _I really need some quiet. Good thing he didn't want to come back here to check on Haruhi. Speaking of..._ he replaced his glasses and looked around the room. _Where is she?_

He took a look around the sitting room, finding no one, and checked the bathroom. He finally entered his own room and saw a mass curled by the book shelf. He stopped for a moment, studying the large T-shirt and shorts on her person he vaguely recognized from years past. ''You know, I usually don't let anyone touch my books.''

She jumped and the book tumbled from her hands. Stumbling to her feet, the girl picked the book back up and held it out, ''I haven't read in a while. Sorry.''

Kyoya crossed his arms and didn't accept the book. ''Which volume is it? I particually enjoyed the fourth.''

She lit up, Almost like Tamaki, speaking of which installment it was and how exciting it had been up until that point. Finally she added, ''I read them all before... well, before now.''

The boy turned, holding out his arms for his overcoat to be removed. Unbeknowst to him, Haruhi had rolled her eyes behind his back as she tugged the sleeves free of his wrists. ''Did you really? What does that all entail? All the 'before now'?'' He asked, glancing impercievably over his shoulder at her.

Holding the coat over her arms, Haruhi paused, ''...Well, what do you want to know?''

Kyoya paused, weighing his words and finally scrapping his thoughts. He shook his head. ''Nevermind. Have you thought about going to school yet?''

She stopped. Blinked. ''What?''

Suddenly he turned, taking her chin and looking at her in the eye. Although confused, she stared back. He studied her through his glasses, the glare making it a one-way mirror to Haruhi. Finally he let go, striding to his desk and sitting down on the office chair. ''I have decided to not reveal our relationship to anyone unnescessary. Thus, living here, you will have to attend school.''

She rolled her eyes at the _'our relationship'_. Of which she was still unsure. ''What school did you have in mind?''

He adjusted his glasses. ''Where did you go most recently?''

''Ouran Public Elementary School. I finished fourth when I was ten.''

''So you've always lived around here. And after fourth?''

''There wasn't... opportunity.''

They came to a stalemate. This time, the girl stared back willingly, across the room.

Finally, Kyoya broke the look and cleared his throat. ''If you have no opinion, you will attend Ouran Academy with me. I'd rather be able to keep an eye on you, anyway.''

She didn't answer for a moment. ''You know,'' she said, ''I still don't understand why you 'rescused' me.'' She emphasized the word dramactically, her eyes half lidded in a state of almost-rolling them. ''I was going to be fine without your help.''

He leaned forward, ''You consider rape 'fine'? You were naked, in an alley, surrounded by ugly men. That's a situation I would be very unhappy to find _myself_ in.''

She began twining her hair around her wrist, rolling her eyes again obviously unfazed. ''It's not like something I haven't dealt with before.''

Slamming his fist on the desk, Kyoya's glasses glistened with anger. ''Why do you accept it so easily? Are you that broken?''

Haruhi's expression clouded, then she took a step forward. ''Calling me broken? I am _not_ broken. My situation may be bad, and my opportunities limited, but I am NOT broken. If I may be so frank, _Master_, brokeness would seem to point to a person who _buys other lives_.''

Instead of the rage he was expecting to bubble up, Kyoya began to laugh. The look on Haruhi's face just escalated his laughter, making everything funny to him for a few more seconds.

''If you're going to talk to me like an equal, at least hold back your laughter. Gosh, what is it with men?''

As suddenly as he started, the laughter ended. He began straightening his cuffs, ''You need to learn your place, I suppose. I don't mind you speaking your mind. The expression on your face just touched my funny bone for some reason.'' He turned to look at her. ''That makes my decision quite clear. You'll attend school with me where I can keep an eye on you. I'll start the enrollment process for you tomorrow.''

After having had a moment to cool down, Haruhi shook her head and laughed quietly. ''Fine. Whatever. Where do I sleep?''

Smirk. ''In my bed.''

''No. Really. _Where do I sleep?_ I'm tired. It's been a wierd day.'' She crossed her arms, shifting her weight to one hip.

Kyoya waved her dismissively, standing and stretching slowly. ''I'll enroll and pay for your school tuition. You find somewhere to sleep.'' He turned quickly and stuck a finger in her face. ''But it must be in my wing. Understood?''

She crossed her arms across the faded logo of his shirt. ''And in the morning?''

He raised an eyebrow. ''I'll outfit you with some kind of clothing and we'll go up to the Academy.''

''And now? Should I bow or something?''

The boy crossed the room to sit down on the bed. ''What did your last master have you do?''

She shifted uncomfortably. ''I'd rather not say. I, um, didn't really leave the room.''

They both colored.

''Alright, I'll see you in the morning.'' Kyoya said finally, breaking the awkward.

Haruhi exited, causing a huff of breath he didn't even know he'd been holding to swoosh out. _This girl._ He took off his glasses and massassed his temples. _How can one person be so infuriating? And so intriguing?_

...-...-...-.-.-...-...-...-...-...-.-.-.-.-...-...-

A/N: (Again) Alright, you guys! You are awesome! Thank you so much for the reviews on the last chapter! We hit ten and exceeded it, but due to starting a new job and finishing an old one this week, I've been trying to fit writing around that. Plus, my poor readers for my other In-Progress are _still_ suffering. (Sorry!) That is also, partially, why this chapter is painfully short. The other thing is that continuing to the next scene would have made it obscenely long, so I decided I'd give you guys something to sink your teeth into now as an appetizer. =)

What else? I hope that my earlier Author's Note and this chapter helped shape where Haruhi's at more completely. Her character is already hard to write, but I threw myself a curveball and made it _harder_, so yay! XD

Alright, I think that's it. Love to all of you!

Hannah


	4. Vase

Haruhi had always been a good student back in school. It came naturally to her, the kind of person who only had to have things explained to her once before it was locked in her brain forever. (Translation: that kid who sits in the front row and takes notes all through class)

The only thing was that she hadn't _done_ school in years. With the coaching Kyoya-sempai had given her before the entrance exams, she had passed easily. But the amount of rust that had accumulated on her mind in the years of near-disuse was staggering and it was making it hard for her to keep up with all the work, even only three days into the semester. Plus, Kyoya had stressed that she bring home all A's. She snorted. Typical.

In the morning when everyone arrived at school it had originally been hard for the two to mask the fact that they were arriving together. After some thought Kyoya had decided it best for Haruhi to walk so that _the nature of our relationship is not even hinted at. You understand, don't you?_This little detail, along with their class difference, had been the reason Kyoya hadn't seen her yet today. Once he had left, on the basis of meeting people before class, Haruhi had picked a comfortable outfit and had begun walking to the school. (Which was not extremely far)

On her way a little kid had run up to talk to her and accidentally gotten gum in her hair; while not appriciated, it hadn't taken long for Haruhi to run back to Kyoya's grand bathroom and procure a pair of scissors to cut the offending hair. _I don't have time to wash it,_ she reasoned, _so I guess this will have to do._

Now she was searching for a place to study. Kyoya had told her to wait, don't walk home alone, and she could ride with him. Although she thought that his worry was nonsense, it was a big school and studying here would give her some time to really catch up. And considering the size of the Academy, there had to be plenty of places for her to curl up with her textbooks and notes.

Or so she thought. Peeking through the door of the fourth library room, all she could see were people everywhere, talking cordially. Nice for manners, awful for studying as the only volume any of them seemed to have was _loud_.

Sighing, she pushed the door closed and wandered further into the building. _This place has four library rooms_, she thought,_ you'd think one of them would be quiet._

As she wandered thoughts floated through her mind, the one surfacing the most arrogantly being how rich kids seemed to use their school as a playground. About to give up, take her book and curl up on the floor just _anywhere_, she spotted her salvation.

Music Room 3, the sign said. She noted gladly that there was no music slipping through the cracks and thought,_ An abandoned music room. I guess this is the only place I'll be able to study in peace and quiet._ The handle turned easily, welcoming her into the room.

A chorus of voices spoke through the haze, "Welcome!"

In a flutter of pink and flower petals, Haruhi tried to make out what she was looking at. "This is a host club...?...!" The most surprising item was a certain dark haired, dark-eyed boy raising one eyebrow at her like they'd never met.

"Oh wow, it's a boy,"

"Hikaru, Kaoru, I believe this young _man_ is in the same class as you, isn't he?"

Haruhi was fumbling for the doorknob. _He's staying after school for THIS? What kind of guy IS this?_

Kyoya was addressing two red-heads Haruhi would have recognized if this all wasn't knocking her so far off balance. They answered, still speaking together,

"Yeah, but he's shy. He doesn't act very sociably so we don't know much about him." They shrugged in unison.

Kyoya studied them for a second. _Would I rather her stay away from the others or have her make friends? And why was I not notified about her hair cut?_ He tried not to rub his eyes in frustration._ Damn it, I liked her long hair!_ Finally he smiled, realizing how much of an advantage this gave him. She was, after all, a beautiful girl.

"Well that wasn't very polite." He crossed his arms, leaving the twins in confusion. "Welcome to the Ouran Host Club, Mr. Honors Student." _For anyone under my authority, they must be able to take hints._

She, of course, was more distrated by trying to get the doors back open to form any kind of coherant answer before a blonde boy popped up curiously.

"What? You must be Haurhi Fujioka! You're the exceptional honor student we've heard about!"

As per Kyoya's rumors, of course.

She turned slowly, the hand-me-down glasses that had been dug up for her glinting nervously. "Um, how did you know that?"

Kyoya jumped right in. "Why you're infamous. It's not everyday a commoner gains access to our Academy." Solidifying his own story with ease and untruth. "You must have an audacious nerve to work hard enough to fight your way into this school, Mr. Fujioka."

_Do I pretend not to know him?_ "Well, uh... thank you, I guess."

The blonde boy spouted his agreement, putting his arm around Haruhi and talking. It took a moment, but suddenly she realized he was the one who had probably gotton an eyefull back when she was sleeping on the couch. _What was his name?_ She wondered, scooting away nervously.

Unfazed, he flounced after her, deciding aloud, "It must be hard for you to constantly be looked down upon by others."

"I think you're taking this poor thing too far," she said, scooting back the way they'd come.

He was still talking, saying mostly nothing, as Haruhi regained herself from the depths of confusion this room had thrown her to. "I'm out of here," she said, walking towards the door.

"Heeey~!" She heard from behind her, two little hands curling around her arm, pulling her back into the room. "Come back here, Haru-chan! You must be like a super hero or something; that's so cool!"

Haruhi tried to understand the seven-year-old in the high school uniform and sighed, correcting him, effortlessly slipping into Kyoya's lie as well. "I'm not a hero, I'm an honor student."

Suddenly she was floating in memories, the last time someone had held her arm like that, calling her that name. It hadn't been a good night.

She shook the boy off, unfairly angry at the innocent gesture. "And who are you calling Haru-chan?" The boy fell back, leaving Haruhi to try to breathe through it, desperately trying to focus on a better memory.

The blonde floated up beside her, balancing his forehead on two fingers lightly, "I never imagined the famous scholar would be so openly gay."

Haruhi didn't react. _Maybe I heard wrong._ "Openly what?"

He continued, moving closer to her, "So," he began, "tell me what kind of guys you're into. Do you like the strong silent type?"

The boy was gesturing to each of the hosts in turn, describing their certain draw, but Haruhi was utterly distracted by the look Kyoya was giving her. _Don't let him touch you_, she could tell. As the blonde boy finished, he approched her causing Haruhi to stumble backwards in a desperate attempt to obey Kyoya's silent admonishion.

She sputtered, "I-uh-! It's not like that at all! I was just looking for a quiet place to study!"

His fingers caught her though, trailing up her face, (which was locked in panic mode) as he purred, "Or maybe, you're into a guy like me," his almost-violet eyes were fixed on her own, "what do you say?"

Unbeknowst to Tamaki, his act was actually throwing Haruhi back into the days a few years back when she'd been taken by someone who had had that same look on his face._ Fiesty! I like a girl who's willing to get tangled in her own hair... what do you say? Ready for me to untie you?_ She'd cut her waist-long hair as soon as she had found scissors afterward.

Truth be told, Haruhi wasn't interested in guys, not really. Not that she was interested in girls, just that she wasn't interested in, well, _anyone_. She'd had too many times where "love" had happened against her will that she wasn't ready to try _anything_ with_ anyone_.

But everything was too overwhelming. She took a frantic step back, her foot connecting with _What is that?_ And as she turned, she saw a shiny blur racing towards the floor. Or maybe the floor was coming up to meet it. She jumped to save it, her fingers missing by millimeters.

_Crash._

The world stopped. _I'm so dead. I'm so dead. Kyoya-sempai is going to kill me than dance on grave because of how dead I am._

Two_ awwww's_ shook her out of her reverie.

"We were going to feature that Renissance vase at an upcoming school auction." It was one of the red-heads.

"Well now you've done it, Commoner! The bidding on that vase was supposed to start at 8 million yen!"

Whirring with calculations, Haruhi tried to imagine possessing that kind of money. "How many thousand yen is that? How many thousand is IN a million?" She turned sheepishly. "Uhhh, I'm going to have to... pay you back."

The twins laughed. "With what money? You can't even afford a school uniform!"

Haruhi, still firmly fixed in panic mode, watched her master pick up a piece of the broken vase with a light, utterly confusing smile etched on his face. He straightened as one of the gingers spouted, "What's with that grubby outfit you've got on, anyway?"

She heard Kyoya's voice from behind her. "Well, what do you think we should do, Tamaki?"

_Do?_ She couldn't handle all these boys at once.

But Tamaki just sat down regally, crossing one leg over the other with a flourish. "There's a famous saying you may have heard of, Fujioka. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Since you have no money you can pay with your body."

Even from her now-rigid position, Haruhi could see Kyoya's eyes glint as he raised one brow. Tamaki, thankfully, continued. "From this day forward, you'll be the Host Club's dog."

She froze. _I don't know if I can handle this! I've been captured by a bunch of boys that call themselves a host club! There's just no way I can handle this many men all the time! And WHAT does my actual Master think about all this?_

The pressure was becoming too much, Kyoya could tell. He watched from behind his shiny lenses, gauging how much of a chance she was going to faint. _Oh, there she goes._

* * *

><p>When she opened her eyes, a pair of dark brown ones glinted back at her. "Well, look at that." The eyes, attached to a face, leaned back as she struggled to gather herself. "You finally woke up. Are you alright?"<p>

She groaned as she sat up, apparently on a couch of some kind. "Did I pass out? Really?" As her hand met with her temple it found an unappealingly large sore spot there.

Kyoya's hand raced out to gently take her hand off the bruise. "Yes, you did seem to have a nasty fall there. Though I suppose anyone first entering this place would probably have the same reaction. And breaking the vase in the first ten minutes? I'm ashamed."

Trying to spout off some sassy answer, the ache in her head began to throb. The most she could get out was a soft groan. (Which, in retrospect, was a big turn-on to Kyoya, but he refrained from anything and simply helped her lean back into the couch)

He stood and shuffled through a cabinet nearby and soon returned with aspirin and water. "Drink this." He said, handing her the water before adjusting his glasses. "I have an errand for you to run."

Flicking the pills into her mouth, Haruhi snorted. "Well good. Wouldn't want to think you'd gone soft, just giving me help and all."

She swallowed. Kyoya was staring at her.

After a moment she ventured, "What?"

He sighed, ghosting his finger down the same side of her face Tamaki had touched not a half hour ago. It was so light, but she could feel it, involuntarily closing her eyes for a second with the sensation. "Apparently you haven't." He was studying her intensly. "The girl raped and abused, but not crushed. You are an anomaly."

He had reached her chin, thus he retracted his hand. She looked at him, unsure of what to think.

"So," Clearing his throat and straightening his tie, business Kyoya was back. "Do you know where to buy coffee?"

* * *

><p>AN:

I'M ALIIIIVE!

My darlings, I am SOOOO sorry I left you hanging for so long! Did I make up for it? It's a three-pager! =D Eh? Ehhh?

Otherwise, I'm in plot! Do you like it? I was, (obviously), streaming the first episode as I wrote this. I HIGHLY recommend watching the first part of the episode after reading this, (FUNimation has it on Youtube), because there is a TON of direct quotes. This plot. OMG. Totally made for this show. =D *evil genius*

But no review replies. Sorry, lovlies. I promise I read and responded to all of them in my mind, so if you have any really pressing questions that still need answered, please feel free to ask again! Or just hugs! I love hugs. ^^

So yeah. Mebbe more this week. Depending on if it's raining and I get called off work tomorrow.

OH also! If anyone is going to Matsuricon this August, I will be there, and my friends and I are going to be running a working host club as the Ouran gang. =) I'm playing Kaoru and we'd love to see you there. Spread the word? =)

Love to all!

Hannah


	5. Coffee

__The Ouran Host Club is now open for business!__

As the top requested host in the club, Tamaki was surrounded by girls when Haruhi got back from the market. "Well speak of the devil," he smiled, "Thanks for doing the shopping, little piglet. Did you get everything on our list?"

Haruhi, rolling her eyes at the pig crack, brought the bag over to him. As he looked through it, he stopped, holding the coffee curiously. "Hey, wait a minute. What is this?"

_There's nothing worse than boys playing with your mind_, she thought, watching half-heartedly as he turned it about. "Just what it looks like."_ Men are so aggrevating_. "It's coffee."

She half wished Kyoya would come over and rescue her from this. He, however, seemed preoccupied with his own table of girls fawning over him. Haruhi rolled her eyes. _Am I doomed to be surrounded by idiots?_

"I've never seen this brand before," Tamaki remarked, "is this the kind that's already ground?"

_Yes. The answer is yes. I will be surrounded by idiots for the rest of my life and will never have an intelligent conversation again._

"What do you mean? It's instant coffee."

A crowd was gathering. "It's instant?"

"Woah! I've heard of this before," the blonde was leaning forward, eyes wide, "it's commoner's coffee! You just add hot water!"

The girls were curious, nodding their agreement in the near-ununderstandable ways of commoners.

Kyoya appeared at her elbow, peering at the coffee in question. "Commoners are pretty smart." _Considering they don't have servants to grind it for them, the time they save is probably immeasurably helpful when getting ready for a 9-5 job in the morning._

The red heads were leaning over the couch, one on each side of Haruhi. "A hundred grams for 300 yen?" One asked.

"That's a lot less than we normally pay," the other agreed.

_Screw these rich people._ "I'll go back and get something else." She offered gruffly. "Excuse me for not buying you guys exensive coffee."

"No," the King decided, standing as he continued, "I'll keep it."

Haruhi watched Kyoya stand back curiously at his friend's actions. _What is he thinking?_ She wondered, his expression too damn... Kyoya. Unreadable. _Is he thinking about benefits of eating commoner's food? The time saving measures he could take with the new commoner's items he's discovered today? What he can do next to annoy me?_

Tamaki was still talking. "I'm going to give it a try." He thrust the coffee out into the air dramactically, pulling gasps from the crowd. "I will drink this coffee!"

Haruhi could barely keep from rolling her eyes as everyone, including the twins, excluding Kyoya-sempai, began clapping.

"Alright, Haruhi. Get over here and make some of this commoner's coffee."

_I hate these damn rich people._

"Oh, Tamaki," one of the ladies was still seated primly, setting down her teacup lightly, "now you're just taking the joke too far. Your palette won't be able to stomach that crap. You don't have to drink it just because he bought it."

Haruhi, (the _he_ in question), looked around. No one was left except her and the girl speaking. "Uh..."

"I'm sorry," she said, turning to smile at Haruhi, "I was talking to myself."

"Uh..." Haruhi said, again, intelligently. _What the crap?_

It was then that she heard a summons issued from the other side of the room to come and be the knowledgable commoner to make the commoner's coffee. "Yeah, yeah," she grumbled, "I'm coming."

The actual taste test wasn't anything to write home about in Haruhi's book. In fact, it was a bit naustating.

_This whole place is, really._ She thought, watching the twins fondle each other with their audience swooning like mad. _I've never seen anything like it._ "What are they so excited about?" She wondered aloud, "I just don't get it."

It was then that a sleepy looking Huni-sempai and Mori-sempai came in, the former riding on the latter's back, still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "Sorry," Huni said, a yawn trying to escape. "We're running late."

Haruhi watched the ladies greet the two half out of interest and half out of _Who gave that six-year-old a high school uniform?_

"I'm sorry," Huni said, being placed lightly on his feet, "I was waiting for Takashi to finish his kendo meeting and I fell asleep." Sitting down, Huni rubbed his eyes, (filled with yawn-tears) and continued, "and I'm still not... completely awake."

As the fangirling commensed, Haruhi couldn't help but wonder aloud, "Is that boy _really_ a third-year student?"

"Huni-sempai may seem young and childish," Kyoya said, suddenly behind her with one hand casually tucked in his pocket, "but he's a prodigy. And then Mori-sempai's allure is his strong and silent disposition."

Kyoya wasn't even trying to look at Haruhi, but she stared openly at him. _I wonder_, she thought, her brain trailing around aimlessly,_ if he really likes doing this. I wonder why he chose to be in this club._

Before anyone could say anything else, something loud was calling out, "Haru-CHAN~~!"

Suddenly there was something small attached to Haruhi's wrist and they were spinning around, the thing, (which turned out to be our favorite leprechan-sized third-year), was laughing and stopped after a second giggling, "Hey Haru-chan! Wanna go have some cake with me?"

"Thanks," Haruhi said, her old lady senses kicking in and making her dizzyness almost ungodly. "But I don't really..." _Don't throw up. Whatever you do_, "like cake."

Kyoya's pen clicked and he opened his ledger._ Cake or all sweets? I'll have to remember to look into that._

"Then how would you like to hold my bunny Usa-chan?" Huni leaned forward, using ultimate cuteness techniques _no one_ was immune to.

Haruhi was almost out of the puking stage. "I'm..." she paused, swallowing bile and hoping that was the last of it, "not into bunnies."

A cloud passed over the boy's face. He held up the pink rabbit in question and asked, "Are you saying you don't like Usa-chan?"

Staring into those plastic eyes, Haruhi was thrown into memories again. A little girl who had lived next door to one of the worse places she'd been sold to had had one really similar._ Haruhi! Play with me! Please? Me and Pinky are bored without you._ The girl that had convinced her, even in that horrible house, that humanity always had somebody to even out the stinkbags/upstanding citzens ratio.

She leaned in, "I guess he is kinda cute, huh?"

Kyoya had continued to play hang-man in his ledger as he watched the scene. _Ah, so Mitsukuni is the first to realize the truth behind Haruhi's gender? I've always taken him for a clever one though, so it's not too surprising._ He jotted down the time and wrote Huni's name next to it. _I wonder who will be next?_

As Huni bounced away, (calling over his shoulder _Take good care of him!_), Kyoya tucked his ledger under his arm and spoke up, "You'll notice that our club utilizies each man's characteristics to cater to the desires of our guests. Just so you know, Tamaki is number one around here. He's the King. His request rate is 70%."

Haruhi, now clutching Usa-chan against her chest, wondered, "What's this world coming to?"

She, of course, was thinking of all the times she_ hadn't_ wanted to be 'romanced'. _Here are all these girls_, her fingers dug into the bunny lightly, _would they be here if they'd done what I have? I don't get it._

Kyoya went on without acknowledging her comment. "Now, you're debt with me is still at 8 million yen. The arrangement with the host club is a perfect way for me to keep an eye on you during the afternoon, so you'll continue to work as the club's dog until we graduate."

She shook her head. "Hold up, are you counting both the money you bought my papers with and the money to replace the vase? That would be 16, not 8 million."

His hair fell forward as he grinned and adjusted his glasses. "You don't think I'd be foolish enough to put the real vase on that filmsy stand when we work with excitable young ladies, now do you? However, it gives a good front for you to be here."

Haruhi rolled her eyes. _I guess that's Kyoya-sempai for you._

Kyoya turned to her, smiling. "You can try to run away if you want to Haruhi, but just so you know, my family employs a private police force of one hundred officers."  
>"Huh?"<p>

"You're going to have to work hard to pay off that debt," someone said from behind her. "My little _nerd_."

And then he blew on her ear. Jumping out of the way, Haruhi hyperventilated a tad. _Too much! Too much!_ She put her hand to her neck and turned, "Please don't do that again."

Tamaki was as collected as Haruhi was out of sorts. "You need a makeover or no girl will ever look twice at you."

"Yeah well, I'm not _trying_ to get girls to look at me."

"Are you kidding me?" The blonde asked, materializing a red rose, "That's the most important thing! You have to learn to be a gentleman to please the ladies. Like me." He winked.

" I just don't think it's all that important."

Tamaki started.

"Why should I care about appearances and labels anyway?" She continued, not noticing Kyoya's ear prick up as she spoke. "I mean, all that really matters is what's on the inside, right? I don't even understand why you have a host club like this."

Kyoya began writing in his ledger.

"It's a cruel reality, isn't it?"

_Annd everything I said just went over Sempai's head. he talk to just hear himself? What is it that he's saying anyway? There's a word for people like him. What is it?_

"... just extend your pinky finger as a cushion, so that there will be no sound as you set the cup down!"

_A pain in the neck? No..._

"... beauty that must be shared with the world!"

_Aw man! I wish I could remember that word!_

"...chosen to share my expertise with you!"

_There's something that fits him perfectly, but what could it be?_

"... how effective a glance to the side can be-"

"-I got it!"

"Oh, did I strike a cord-"

"-Obnoxous!"

It took all of about ten seconds for the flabbergasted 'King' to curl himself into a corner, not a sound coming out of him.

_Was he really that upset?_ "Uh... I'm sorry, Tamaki-sempai."

On either side of her head, Haruhi felt the twins and heard them laughing as they noticed Tamaki. "You're a hero alright." One said, the other agreeing. _I've got to learn to tell them apart._ Haruhi decided, making a mental note for later.

She tried to laugh, lighten the mood. "I'm sorry, Sempai. But your lesson did strike a small cord with me."

"Really it did?" He stood, posing again. "Let me teach you more, my friend."

Even the twins looked a bit surprised at the blonde's speedy recovery. _Well he got over that quick,_ Haruhi thought.

"Boss?"

"Call me King!"

The twin that had spoken continued like he hadn't noticed the ridiculous demand. "You can teach him all the basics of hosting,"

"but he's not going to get very far with the ladies if he doesn't look the part, you know." The other twin finished the sentence, not even an instant between them.

Haruhi watched as that one wondered around to face her. "He's not exactly 'host club material' but," he was reaching for Haruhi's glasses, "maybe if we took off his glasses it would help."

Now blind, all she could see was two ginger blurs, "Hey, I need those!" She protested. "I used to have contacts, but I lost them!"

Tamaki's voice was somewhere nearby, giving everyone directions. _What's... going on?_ Haruhi wondered, getting more angry by the minute. Suddenly she was being dragged by the wrists,_ both_ wrists actually. _That means the twins_, she decided, and was presented with a blue mass.

Two voices demanded, "Change into this uniform!"

Kyoya was sitting outside the room, writing in his book. As the twins were sent angrily out of the dressing room, he shook his head. _They've just realized. I should have known they'd be next to figure it out._ Looking down at his watch, he noted the time and wrote Hikaru and Kaoru's names beside it. _And because my idiot is so slow, Mori-sempai is all who has yet to realize. I wonder how Tamaki will eventually find out? It certainly can't be intuition._

_Haninozuka Mitsukuni: 3:02 p.m._

_Hitachiin Hikaru & Kaoru: 3:42 p.m._

_Morinozuka Takashi: Undecided_

_Suoh Tamaki: Probably will not_

* * *

><p>AN:Hi guys! So did anyone watch the epsiode after the last chapter? I still recommend it; at least, it's been really fun for me to see!

And thank all of you for the reviews on the last chapter! Next chapter is going to be fun and... smutty.. probably, but I'm not going to post it until I've at least 10 reviews on this chapter. Sorry, but I think you awesome peoples can bust that out, like, _tonight_~! Yeah! Smut!

And now I would like to talk to you for a minute. There are those that say that life is like a book, with chapters for each event in your life and a limited number of pages on which you can spend your time. But I prefer to think that a book is like a life, particularly a good one, which is well worth staying up all night to finish. Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant, filled with odd waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like. One of the most difficult things to think about in life is one's regrets. Something will happen to you, and you will do the wrong thing, and for years afterward you will wish you had done something different. Now that I've lost all the regular people, I can talk about smut. If you've read this far, bravo! For doing so I am going to allow you to pick what is going to happen next chapter smut-wise. It can only be with a host that knows Haruhi's gender, obviously, and I'd rather not write Huni smut. (Ew) However, an easy loophole to use is to reach into the past to the scene where Tamaki encounters sleepy Haruhi on the couch. So, you have the choice of Kyoya, Hikaru, Kaoru and Tamaki. If you've read all this and want to give imput, review and put the word purple somewhere in it. Please, make sure you use it in a sentence. Whoever's idea I like the best I will use and I'm going to try to make the rest of the ideas into one-shots so we can have some HostsxHaruhi up in this house. Okay. Now I'm going to quote more Lemony Snicket so this message is more hidden. Ciao! A navigational compass, as any good inventor knows, is made from a small piece of magnetized metal and a simple pivot, but the ingredients in a moral compass are not as clear. Some believe that everyone is born with a moral compass already inside them, like an appendix, or a fear of worms. Others believe that a moral compass develops over the time, as a person learns about the decisions of others by observing the world and reading books. In any case, a moral compass appears to be a delicate device, and as people grow older and venture out into the world, it often becomes more and more difficult to figure out which direction one, moral compass is pointing, so it is harder and harder to figure out the proper thing to do.

Well, see you lovlies soon!

Hannah


	6. Manipulate

It was 4:52 p.m. And Haruhi was still not out of the dressing room. Kyoya had kindly suggested to send the rest of the girls home, (as all of the hosts were too eager to see the transformation to do any proper hostin; even Tamaki), and was now waiting with the others. The only one not transfixed to the curtain was Huni, who had just finished his fourteeth piece of cake.

At 4:53, a voice spoke up on the other side of the make-shift door. "Um, Sempai?"

Kyoya, of course, could only assume she meant him._ I am her... guardian after all._ He didn't stop Tamaki however when he responded, "Aren't you done changing yet?"

This was kind of unfair to Haruhi, seeing as the hair stylist hadn't left until 4:44 and she did have a new pair of contacts she'd never used before to put on.

But when she pulled back the curtain, _Fine._ Kyoya conceeded, _I suppose it was worth it._

Without the glasses, her coffee-colored eyes were visible, huge-looking and vulerable even with the almost-stoic expression she was wearing. Her hair had been tamed and was no longer going up at every angle it could find. Now it looked... soft. Touchable. He shivered.

Even the uniform suited her. Kyoya smirked. _I knew her small... assets would come in handy, but I didn't expect it to be in this capacity. Excellent. And seeing as how everyone believes her debt is to the club, they will be obliged to keep this secret and keep her out of the way of most of the boys in this school._

"You sure it's really okay for me to keep this uniform?" Haruhi asked, running her hand down her thigh encouragingly only in Kyoya's mind. In reality she was just standing like a normal person.

Tamaki was glowing, though. "Mmm, cute! You're as pretty as a girl! Adorable!"

"Haru-chan, you look so cute!"

"If we had known that's how you really look-"

"-We would have helped you out sooner!"

_Perfect._ "Who knows?" Kyoya put it, "Maybe he'll draw in some customers."

Tamaki interjected, the focus obviously not falling enough on him. "You know," he said, pointing as if he had had a wonderful idea, "that's just what I was thinking."

_Bull. Crap._

"Our errand boy is moving up the ranks," Kyoya's Idiot continued, "starting tomorrow you are an official member of the Host Club! I will personally train you to be a first rate host,"

_I suppose it really doesn't matter if girls would like to fawn over her. But this personal time might actually give Tamaki the opening he'll need if he's actually going to figure out Haruhi's true gender on his own._

"If you can get one hundred customers to request your service," Tamaki smiled, "we will completely forget about your eight million yen debt."

_Good thing I have say in where the girls _actually_ end up everyday. She is really a good looking boy._

She stared, surprised, at the finger Tamaki was pointing at her, "A host?"

* * *

><p>As they gathered their things, the twins were lingering. Kyoya, of course, had noticed it but hadn't decided what they were going to yet.<p>

Huni had fallen back asleep, and with a nod from Mori-sempai, they had left. Kyoya watched the odd procession; Mori with his own backpack plus Huni's pink bunny-themed one both slung over his back. Huni, who had_ insisted_ he wasn't sleepy was sitting on his shoulders, trying not to let his head loll down to resting on Mori's own head. It didn't take long though, and Huni was asleep on Mori's shoulder's before they reached the doors.

Tamaki was slowly putting his things back in his backpack as he chattered to Kyoya about mostly nothing. "... you think a ninja cosplay would actually work? My father told me about the ninjas here in Japan, but I think they only come out at night because..."

Haruhi was sitting one of the window seats, bent over her text book. _She's making it damn hard to concentrate._ But what could he tell her? 'Stop looking so cute or I'll raise your debt'?

"...not listening, are you Kyoya?"

Kyoya looked absently up at Tamaki, who had finished repacking his backpack, (which, consequently, had been filled with markers and coloring books today. They'd run out of blue ink by lunch time) and noticed his friend's twinkling eyes. "You look like you've met a girl. Are you going to tell me about her?"

He removed his glasses and cleaned them carefully. "No, there's no girl." He stated it quickly, resolutely, "I was just trying to balance the club budget. And yes I was listening; yes I think ninja cosplays would be fine as long as faces were at least partially visible and no they don't just come out at night." He leaned in, motioning for Tamaki to do so as well, "But there are ninjas. They're just so fast you can't see them, day or night."

The almost-violet eyes were wide with curiousity, "Really? That's magnificent! I can't believe how amazing Japan is!" Tamaki leaned back, slinging his bookbag casually, "Are you ready, Kyoya? We can walk out together if you'd like."

Kyoya replaced his glasses and shook his head. "I'd really like to finish this first. Thank you, though."

"Alright. See you tomorrow!"

As he returned the wave, Kyoya let his eyes dart around the room, trying to find the twins. _They're playing with... a rubber ball?_

He watched curiously as Hikaru threw the bouncy ball as hard as he could to Kaoru, the toy getting three bounches before the latter twin scooped it up. They laughed and continued to play. Kyoya rolled his eyes. _Children will play, I suppose._

It was only about a minute later when he heard Kaoru running up to Haruhi, panting, "Haruhi! I'm sorry! We didn't mean to hit you!"

Kyoya stood. Unsure of whether to go stop them or leave. _I have to use the rest room,_ he thought, exiting the room.

Haruhi, on the other hand, was clawing at her back, trying to let the ball take leave of her shirt.

When she'd first sat down, she hadn't wanted to mess up the nice suit jacket so she'd draped it carefully over a nearby chair. Then when she'd sat down on the large window seat, her tucked-in shirt had tugged, so she'd unbuttoned the first few buttons.

Somehow, the ball had sailed past her shoudler and down the back of her shirt, getting caught at the bottom of the button-up where they tucked into the pants. Haruhi was still trying to learn the twins apart, but one of them had run up to her appologizing when it had happened.

"It's okay," she said, "Just get it out, please."

Unbeknownst to Haruhi, Kaoru sent a look to his brother. Hikaru rolled his eyes and pushed Kaoru out of the way, taking his place. "Okay, Haruhi," he began, "I'm going to have to unbutton you the rest of the way, then reach inside and get it."

Kaoru colored when he realized the possible meanings of his twin's words.

Haruhi grumbled. "Why did the two of you switch?"

Hikaru knelt down and began undoing the buttons. "What do you mean?" He laughed, cocking one eyebrow, "We didn't switch."

"Yes you did." Haruhi was watching him as he finished the last button.

The ginger seemed a bit surprised that she had actually caught that. He blushed a bit and reached hesitantly into her shirt. "Now don't worry," Hikaru coached sarcastically, "this won't hurt a bit."

Haruhi just rolled her eyes. "Better not."

Kaoru stood back, trying not to turn red at the scene. His brother's arm was fully around Haruhi's waist now, and if he kept going according to their plan things would get more...exciting in a second.

Hikaru picked up the ball. He had had to lean in very close to get his arm all the way around, and they could almost eskimo kiss. Before he pulled his hand out, he whispered against her mouth, "Say please."

But Haruhi was still as normal as ever. "No. Get it out so I can button my shirt again."

The ginger wouldn't take 'no' as an answer, though. With his free hand, he walked his fingers up her back and tickled her neck lightly. When she actually reacted by turning her head to the side, Hikaru pulled her head in closer and began tracing his tongue lightly against the shell of her ear. When he reached the top, he gave another breathy whisper right into the ear, "Please. Say it."

The girl rolled her eyes. "You know you could have just told me to untuck my shirt and let it fall out. Fine. Please."

Hikaru straightened quickly, not drawing out slowly like he'd been planning to. _Any other girl would be tramatized, right? What's wrong with her?_

He tossed the ball to Kaoru. "Alright, cool. Well, we'll see you tomorrow then, Haruhi! Good night!"

Kaoru grabbed his own bag and followed Hikaru out. "Yeah, good night, Haruhi!"

She just rolled her eyes and wondered what the _hell_ that was all about. _At least they left._

As Hikaru exited the music room, he saw something in the corner of his eye. "Wha-? Kyoya-sempai? What are you doing out here?"

Kaoru shifted his bookbag.

Adjusting his glasses slowly, Kyoya stayed where he was against the wall. "Just enjoying watching the people go by."

Kaoru looked around and laughed. "Sempai, if you hadn't noticed, school's out for the day. There's no one here."

Acting surprised, Kyoya looked around. "I guess no one saw that little display in the music room then, did they?"

Hikaru didn't even try to act guilty. "Hey, I was just trying to have some fun. The Boss is so easy to mess with, I thought we might get a new toy today."

But the Shadow King didn't really react. He stretched than pulled out his ledger lazily. "There was something in here I've written down you may be interested in Hikaru, before you decide whether or not you want to play with that toy. Here it is," he cleared his throat and read the few lines, "Yesterday at 7:20 a.m., Hitachiin Hikaru was with one of the Host Club's regular guests under the large tree in the garden. Hitachiin Kaoru was not present. Hikaru seemed to be more involved that fondling, less than sex. No other incidents with this lady have occurred this semester."

Kaoru was staring at his brother wide eyed. "Hikaru," he began, sounding hurt. But Kyoya wasn't finished.

"I'd suggest you take my advice and leave our new puppy alone." His glasses glinted. "Or something else in my book may come out. See you both tomorrow."

And with a smile, the Shadow King had reentered the music room, leaving two out-of-sorts twins in the hall.

When he did come back in, Haruhi was wiping off her ear. "Kyoya-sempai, where did you go? I..."

She didn't finish, just sighed and continued to clean her ear.

"I had business to attend to. Are you alright?"

Haruhi opened her mouth then shut it again. Finally she just shook her head in annoyance.

Kyoya wanted to cross the room, clean all the dirty spit off her ear for her and hold her, feel her crying all the pent up tears that had to be hiding in here somewhere. _Years and years of stuff just like what happened just now. With no one out in the hallway to protect her. _ But it was Haruhi, and she didn't cry.

"I know what just occurred, Haruhi," he began, clearing his throat. "and I let it happen because-"

"-You _let_ that happen?" She interupted, stopping the process of rebuttoning and putting her hands on her hips. "I'm sorry, _Master_, but that doesn't seem like something you should be _letting_ happen to your... what exactly am I to you, anyway? You don't seem to want me strictly as a _whore_," she let the word slide off her tongue with disgust, "though I could be mistaken. And now you want me to host in the afternoon_ while_ I try to keep up on homework- which is something I haven't had in ages, let me remind you- and NOW you want me to let someone else_ lick my ear_ and you're going to just _let it HAPPEN_?"

She would have gone on if Kyoya hadn't jumped back in, taking a step towards her, "If you had let me finish, I would have told you that I let it happen _because_ now there is an incident I can hold over him concerning you." He rubbed his temple, "Believe me Haruhi, if there was an easier way to keep him away from you, I would have gone about it that way."

"'Keep him away'?" Haruhi took a step forward as well. "You mean manipulate. You think you're so very cunning, but all you know how to do is make enemies!"

They were only about a foot apart. Kyoya took her by the shoulders. "Making enemies is the best way to keep them away from you!"

Her eyes widened, the anger dissolving a bit.

Kyoya's voice reduced a bit. "And anyway, manipulation isn't a bad tool to use. If I were to do, say, _this_," he ghosted his hand over her hip, watching her face react, "that would be a correct use of manipulation. Or I could try something more like_ so_," he'd moved his fingers around to the back, tickling her at the very base of her spine, so _very_ close to her butt, "and the reaction would be something like-"

Haruhi moaned on que. She blushed, not wanted to play into the game.

"Now," Kyoya grinned, "manipulation is an easy, if not tricky tool to use properly. While both of the elements I previously incorporated are helpful, something a bit more.._.potent_ can be used to really make use of whoever it is you are trying to control." He ran his fingers down her tie. "This really is a tacky tie with that outfit you're wearing, isn't it?"

Haruhi's still red face twisted. "No," she said softly, trying not to pant, "I think it looks fine."

But he wasn't satisfied. "No, really. It is a fashion misfire if ever I've seen one." He slipped the knot and, in one smooth motion, threw it aside. "Now that looks a bit better. But have you ever seen so many buttons?" He began undoing them, slowly, one by one. When they were done, he circled her and stopped when he was directly behind her. Taking her by the shoulders again, he whispered in her ear, "You look hot. Maybe you should take off this old thing."

The shirt now off, he walked back to meet her eyes. She wore a camisole, something seeming to... girly for the boy she'd been that day. Kyoya grinned through his glasses. "To really seal off a good piece of manipulation, you should get personal." He ran his finger along her collar bone. "Do something they'll remember."

Haruhi wanted to push him away, but all she could do was watch in half fascination as her master leaned down to her level and nuzzled her in the hollow between her collar bones. She wanted to not react, just stand there like a doll,_ like every other time_, but her body was almost working on it's own will. And when his tongue came out, just exploring the little nook gently, she had to bite her lip to stop from crying out. A muffled moan escaped instead.

His tongue, that talented, so utterly _damnable_ thing, traced her bones gently. "This," he said, pausing by her right shoulder, "is something you won't forget. However,"

Leaving the sentence hanging, Kyoya kissed her shoulder, the base of her neck, her throat, her chin and finally looked into her eyes, his own filled with a smirk Haruhi wouldn't forget, and said, "to keep the manipulation from losing it's potency,"

That was when he ran his finger over her lips,_ Not yet_, he scolded himself, "leave them hanging. Make them be the ones that come back for more. Make them beg. And you'll have become a master at manipulation."

He straightened, saying something about leaving soon and _shouldn't you be studying, Haruhi?_ As he left her for his paperwork, Haruhi shivered.

What on earth was she supposed to think of that?

* * *

><p>AN: Eh? Ehhhh? Kyo/Haru anyone? EHHH? 8D

Smut. Was it too much? In character/out of character? I'm not completely used to writing Kyoya yet, so let me know what you think!

Thank you to everyone who played along with last chapter's notes, you are all absolutely lovely! Princessmelodina actually inspired the bouncy ball (kinda) so THANK YOU darlin'!

Alright. Guys. I've been spamming with chapters this week. The parts directly from the show are tedious to write, but this last chapter took me all of an hour to pump out. And, unfortunately, tediousness is going to be happening next so we're gonna take the next coupla days to simmer. Ready? Simmering. Waitin' for the next chapter. That's your job. Got it?

I know there was something else I was going to say. But since I can't think of it, I shall let you all go.

Love you all! Have a delightful weekend!

Hannah~!


	7. Awake

__Haruhi has family, does she?__ Kyoya has been going over his records of her when he came across an interesting point; a father_. ___She's never gone into any kind of detail about how she ended up in the black market. Hmm. __He shuffled the papers around, glancing out the cracked door of his bedroom. If he squinted, he could just barely make out her sleeping form on the couch she had claimed in his wing's common area.

He had to get all of these papers sorted quickly, though. It was only a few hours until school began and he still hadn't slept_. ___I've pulled all-nighters before; I suppose I will have to make do with whatever little sleep I can manage tonight. __

He turned back to the information on his lap. Haruhi's father.__ Goes by the name 'Ranka,' and works at a nearby transvestite bar. Hmm. It appears that her mother... died. __His eyes widened slightly with his realization. __When she was young. So why...? __His thoughts were trailing off; even with the night owl that he was, it was becoming hard for him to stay awake.

After a second's more consideration, he shook his head and pushed the pile of documents to the side, straightening them all out and setting them neatly on his desk before he climbed into bed and finally, finally, took his glasses off. __I'll make a note to follow up with this new development tomorrow at the first opportunity I receive. But right now... __He closed his eyes and smiled. __I think I'll... just relax. __

And then the alarm began buzzing. Pillow over head, Kyoya swiped at his end table wildly, mostly missing, cursing in his mind about how it couldn't possibly be school time yet.

He hit the button, making contact right before it would have gotten louder, and considered how much he would lose for sleeping through the rest of the day and skipping school. Briefly he borrowed Tamaki's mind theatre and imagined Haruhi dressed as a French maid, flashing panties as she giggled and blushed, giving him a full body massage on the bed. _No school. Just Haruhi._ She could wear those thigh-high stockings and that costume my sister wore for that party when she was younger. It wouldn't fit her properly, would it? I suppose I'd have to settle for the shirt part to be a bit tight on her and the skirt to come too high. Ah well. Such is life. __

All these thoughts had come to him in the span of about 30 seconds, and his head was still under the pillow. He tossed it off, annoyed. Sitting up on the bed, Kyoya reached for his glasses then checked the time_. ___I suppose I'll have to make sure Haruhi is up as well, yes? __He snorted_. ___We break the bonds of normal master-servent relationships, eh? __

Out in the common area, he found... nothing_. ___She awoke already. Good. It would be so bothersome if she were troublesome to wake in the morning. __He adjusted his glasses, not wanting to admit that this morning was the first in months it hadn't taken him five calls from Tamaki just to get out of bed.

As he could hear the water running in the shower, he retreated to find his phone.

Haruhi emerged dressed and ready a bit later and found Kyoya finishing a telephone call. "Yes, it was wonderful to have met you as well. Alright, I'll take care of everything. Yes. Goodbye."

She picked up her new school bag. "Senpai? Are you ready for school?"

They both looked at his pajamas for a second. If Haruhi wasn't so used to guys being... well... naked around her, she might have blushed at his shirtlessness. He adjusted his glasses. "School, yes. Call my driver and ask him to meet us at the door. I can be ready within five minutes, alright?"

Nodding, she turned to give him his privacy.

"Oh, and Haruhi?"

She turned. "Eh?"

Glasses glinting, "We will be making one stop after school and the club so please try to complete your homework early today, will you?"

__That smile___, _Haruhi thought, __It could charm a criminal. What's he up to? __

But instead of voicing that, she just smiled back. "Okay. I'll try."

* * *

><p>AN: D8 I'M A HORRIBLE PERSON. *SOB*

I am *SO* sorry for not updating for so long! Once I realized how long it had been, I thoroughly slapped myself silly for being so silly.

And it's short. But it's a chapter, non? 8D


	8. Home

It took three classes that morning to remind Haruhi that _You have to host today!_ and _Charming ladies! This is like, your forte, right?_ She shrugged it off until fifth period, in which they were working as groups and the twins had immediately claimed Haruhi.

The one on the left, with the slightly raspier voice, was explaining how the project would work as she tried to pick apart which one was which. She was getting close, and could guess right about 75% of the time. "...so we'll be able to finish early. Right, Haruhi?"

She snapped back to the one talking, _Hikaru, (right?)_, and nodded. "Finishing early is always very nice."

The other laughed and she internally kicked herself. _This one is Hikaru!_ "I think she's nervous, Kaoru. About hosting for the first time, yes?"

Kaoru grinned. "Don't worry, Haruhi! Everyone makes mistakes early on, so don't worry about it if you do!" They both slid close to her ears, "Except you have a debt to pay off. So you don't have room to mess up."

She rolled her eyes. Hosting girls can't be all that different from turning heads, right? _And I've been pretty decent at that before_, she huffed and suggested, "Let's get back to the project, you guys."

* * *

><p>Kyoya mostly kept his distance at school, although whether it was because he was trying to stay away or actually just busy was a bit of a question. His surveillance system kept a close eye on Haruhi and her secret all day, and updated him on her day every forty-five minutes. <em>The twins seem to be staying close by,<em> he mused, writing down the latest notes he had on her fifth period class. He twirled his pen absently. _I suppose that is a good thing, however. They won't make any unnesscary advances on her after our encounter and, as they are part of the host club, the other boys will likely leave her be when they see the twins around._ The host club wasn't exclusive; just a club. There were certain social barriers between those in the club and those outside it, as Kyoya had observed.

He snapped his ledger closed, trying not to look as tired as he felt. _I think it's time to call for some coffee._

* * *

><p>That afternoon at the club, there was a new host open for business. As the ladies were let in as the doors swung open, they noticed a new table and chairs waiting and the <em>Cute new boy!<em> greeting them along with the regular hosts.

Haruhi was beginning to sweat it, though. _Crap, they actually want me to host them?_ She worried as she led her new guests to the new table designated for the new host. As they sat down, Haruhi started off easy; serving tea. She made sure everyone had tea and the finger foods before she sat down.

Almost immediately the girls jumped on her with questions:

"So tell me, Haruhi, do you have any hobbies? What do you like to do?"

"I'm curious; what kind of products do you use on your skin?"

"Yes, it's so pretty!"

_I can't do this_, she thought, her face twitching slightly as she tried to hold the smile in place, _I have no idea what I'm supposed to do!_

The girls just giggled. "So why did you join the host club, Haruhi?"

"Uhh," She stopped for a second, _All I have to do is get 100 customers to request me and he'll forget about my eight million yen debt!I know just the story..._

A few minutes later, a certain Frenchman was peeking his way over his hosting couch._ I wonder what they're talking about?_ He wondered, _It can't possibly be anything I taught her about: Look how sad they look!_

"I see," one of the girls said.

"Your mother was sick and passed away ten years ago," another chimed in, pity and sadness written across her features, "Who does the chores around the house?"

Kyoya, documenting on the other side of the room, was listening with his glances. Haruhi was obviously tugging at the ladies' heartstrings somehow; he'd have to go over the security cam closest to her later to get the actual dialogue. _It looks like she's playing it perfectly;_ he gathered. _A few more glances off to the side with those huge eyes and they'll come back every day for her._

"...and it made me happy to see my dad enjoy them." She smiled into her lap, not realizing the audience she had garnered was more than just the ladies at the table. "I've had a hard childhood, but Dad and I have managed to make it through okay." She grinned, an award winning thing, causing the guests at her table to beg, _Is it okay if tomorrow... we request to sit with you again?_ Obviously she agreed happily.

Across the room, Kyoya had gotten up from his seat and wandered over to his blonde idiot. "Why is he so popular?" The second wondered.

"He's a natural," Kyoya put in, not even bothering with consulting his notes.

The twins, from the floor, added, "No training needed."

One of Tamaki's customers was becoming impatient, however. "Have you forgotten about me?"_ Host Club King? Strut your stuff. I want to watch you parade._

"Sorry, Princess," the King sparkled, tossing his hair elegantly, "I'm just a bit concerned about our newest host."

"Well that's obvious, Tamaki," she retorted, not bothering with an honorific, "you sure have been keeping an eye on him."

"Of course, I have to. I'm training him to be a gentlemen like me." Raising his hand without turning, Tamaki snapped his fingers and called, "Haruhi. Come here for a minute."

"What's up?" _I have guests, Senpai._

"I'd like you to meet someone," He motioned to his guest in full host mode.

As he introduced her, Haruhi's breath caught. _It's that girl from earlier. I don't like how she looks at me._ "Miss, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Tamaki's heart stopped. Suddenly he was swinging his "natural" around, squealing, "That was so cute! That aura of bashfulness was good! Super good! Amazingly good! Oh! You're so CUTE!"

_You're cute._ Haruhi was in full panic mode. _I CAN'T DO THIS AGAIN! HE NEEDS TO LET GO!_ In a fit of desperation, she called, "MORI-SENPAI! HELP ME!" Flailing against his doting.

It only took a second for Takashi to scoop her up and pause, his stoic face unreadable, but probably something to the effect of,_ This can't be a boy's waist_, running through his mind.

"Mori-Senpai?" Tamaki ventured, a bit taken aback, "You really didn't have to go that far."

From there, this dissolved into an argument over how cute Haruhi was, (she and Tamaki did) which the ladies found _KAWAII!_ The remainder of the club was mostly peaceful, minus Kaoru actually crying when Hikaru kissed one of the girls on the cheek.

It wasn't until after, when Kyoya had instructed Haruhi to collect her things, _We're leaving as soon as possible. Don't dawdle._ that the peace dissolved a bit.

_Hey_, Haruhi thought, peering into her locker, _what happened to my bag?_ She, being Haruhi, always knew exactly where she put things, and her bag was definitely out of place.

She turned, looking absently out one of the grand windows, when she spotted something in the fountain. "Wha-? Are you kidding me?" Confused, she murmured, "But how did that happen?"

Spread through the pool were all her new books, her pencil case, and _Oh CRAP_, one of Senpai's books she had 'borrowed' from his room. "I didn't think there were bullies at this school," she sighed, turning to find the exit, "Guess they're everywhere."

She began jogging down the hallway, anxious to get everything out before it was completely ruined, (plus there was the fact that Senpai was waiting in the Music Room still) when she passed one of the girls from the Host Club.

"Oh," the girl said, not turning to face Haruhi, "It's you again. I bet you love having Tamaki making you over and fawning over you. It's useless, though. You're always going to be a second-class citizen."

Haruhi paused, mind buzzing. _Does she know? How could she?_

* * *

><p>"Young master, we have some new developments we need to discuss."<p>

Ootori looked up from his paperwork; one of his agents standing behind him. Glancing quickly at his club mates, (most of which were playing a very intense game of Go Fish!, except Tamaki who had gone to the bathroom shouting to _Hold my turn!_) he nodded for him to continue.

"It's about Fujioka."

* * *

><p><em>I have a feeling that girl's the one who threw my bag in the pond. I can't be bothered by her right now though, if I don't find my wallet, I won't have any money for food this week.<em> She clawed through the gentle wavers, becoming a bit more desperate. _And Kyoya-Senpai was so adamant about that being all the money he would loan me this week... Tight-wad._

"Hey, commoner,"

Haruhi looked up, half-expecting to see one of the old boys from before Kyoya. _Ah,_ She sighed, _just that Suoh kid._

He continued without a response, "You've got some nerve skipping out on the club like that."

She turned back, still sifting through the water as he finally noticed, "Why is your bag all wet?"

"Uh, it's not big deal. I got it." Haruhi told him, then more to herself, "I just can't find my food money."

Suddenly, she heard splashing and turned to find the blonde, pants rolled up and shoes gone, searching through the waves, too. "Hey," she told him, "You don't have to do that. You'll get wet."

Tamaki sighed, not unhappily, and repsonded, "A little water never hurt anyone. Besides," he smiled, "people are always telling me I'm 'dripping with good looks.'"

Haruhi stared. _He's just helping me. For no reason at all. Kyoya paid a lot of money for me, so he has to help me... but why...?_

"Hang on a second," He said, holding up the dripping culprit, "This what you're looking for?" He winked, but it wasn't the kind of wink she was used to. Winking in the past for Haruhi meant, _I wonder how many times I can take you in one night,_ but nothing of the sort was written in his face.

_Does he even know what that would mean? How can someone so innocent exist?_

"What's the matter? You're staring off into space." He grinned, waving the wallet around her face, "You're not falling for me, are you?"

Immediately back to reality, she swiped it out of his hand, "No way!"

He leaned back, "How did your bag end up in the pond anyway?"

_What on earth would be believable? He probably shouldn't know I'm being bullied_. "I guess I must have dropped it out the window at some point." _Right. Because the windows here TOTALLY open._

Tamaki just shrugged though. "We're playing Go Fish! and I've probably missed my turn by now. But we could probably still go up and play the next round?"

Haruhi grinned, totally unsure of how to take this person anymore. "Yeah. Let's go."

* * *

><p>Once the game was over, Kyoya openly offered Haruhi a ride home, (so the other club members wouldn't think it odd them leaving together), and they said their goodbyes for the day.<p>

She still couldn't totally believe the car thing. Maybe it was just because her old masters were stupid jackasses, but she'd never been allowed in one. (Except for once and that was because she and him had been in a... very close position at that point)

As she was helped into the vehicle, Haruhi, still in partial shock, (which was being carefully filed away under, "Kyoya's Doing") ventured, "Where _are_ we going, Senpai? You've been quite cryptic about this whole outing."

Kyoya, having situated himself after she was settled, mostly ignored the question and continued writing in his ledger. "Call it a surprise if you wish. The trip won't take long."

The rest of the ride was quiet, unless you counted the mind noise. Haruhi's was spinning out answers to her new pile of homework she had yet to begin, while her companion was trying _not_ to imagine all the different ways he could have taken her right there in the limo. His driver was sworn to secrecy anyway; _why shouldn't I?_ He thought, immediately chiding himself. _Haruhi would not enjoy a nurse roleplay, as it is. So I suppose that's out of the question._ Ahh, Haruhi in a nurse uniform. He tried not to become light headed.

The car slowed gently to a stop, although, as he had guessed, even now Haruhi didn't know why they had arrived here. _I thought as much_, He consulted earlier notes he had on their intended visitor, _as he seems like the type to uproot frequently._

After consulting for a moment with his driver, Kyoya helped Haruhi from the car and waited as the car pulled away. He adjusted his glasses, but didn't turn to her as he said, "Haruhi, if this becomes too emotional for you, please let me know discreetly. I can remove you if you wish."

She cocked an eyebrow, but only nodded her confusion. He began leading her up the steps of the apartment complex, and they counted up the door numbers until Kyoya seemed satisfied that he had found the one that shared numbers with his notes. They paused, Haruhi to watch her incomprehensible master's emotions flit across his face, and Kyoya to ready himself for whatever this visit had in store.

(He didn't worry about how Haruhi was no doubt catching him at a slightly vunerable point; she still had her debt to consider)

It only took a moment after Kyoya knocked respectfully on the door for a shrill voice to inform them, "Coming, darlings~!"

Haruhi froze. "..."

Kyoya straightened his jacket as the door swung open grandly, revealing about what he'd expected;

"HARUHI!" In a blur of ginger, Kyoya's charge was tackled, the tackler sobbing huge tears. "DADDY MISSED YOU SO MUCH!"

Blank faced, Haruhi responded, "Hi, Dad."

Kyoya cleared his throat, smiling his hosting grin. "Ranka-chan? I've been so anxious to meet you, how are you doing?"

"Hm?" He looked up, eyes lighting for the first time on the boy hovering above him. "Kyoya, darling!"

The energy that had been just directed to Haruhi was rechanneled to hugging him desperately and rubbing his cheek on Kyoya's. "You don't know how worried I've been about my poor little baby! I am forever in your debt, you handsome man, you!"

Having stood herself back up and dusted her uniform off neatly, the _poor little baby_ spoke up, "I've been fine, Dad. How are you doing?" She was glaring at the ginger in question, hands on hips angrily, "You don't look like you've been eating properly. What do you keep in your kitchen?"

With an expression that was massively sheepish, Ranka tried to atone for his eating sins. "_Well_," he began, gesturing wildly, "I've been on an all fruit diet! It's supposed to be great for the skin! Now my skin glows like the summer time sun! My pores are too small to see making every photo I take model level! And soon my skin will be so radient I won't even need coverup! I-"

The rambling was cut off by Haruhi grabbing the man's cheek saying, "You need to eat healthier! That means something from all the food groups every day! Didn't you ever notice what I made when I cooked for us?"

"I'd hardly want your health to be endangered, Ranka-chan."

The redirection of attention helped both of the Fujiokas to let off some steam before Haruhi tore into him even more. Ranka sobbed for Kyoya, "Kyo-san! Save me from her!"

Kyoya smiled. "Haruhi. Remove yourself."

Grudgingly, she let her father go, not completely angry anymore. Besides, it had been quite a while since she had seen him. Ranka watched in awe as his daughter complied on the first try when this beautiful man told her to do something.

"Wow, Kyo-chan! 3 That was amazing!" Ranka smiled brightly, clapping his hands together. "Now make her roll over!"

"Don't talk about your only daughter like a dog when you haven't seen her in so long!" Haruhi snarled, grabbing his face again.

"But you're so cute! Just like you were when you were a child!"

Kyoya moved into the living space further, inspecting everything in an instant. _Average means of living. Nothing too expensive, but his records indicate he could probably afford a bit more. I wonder what he's saving for..._

Turning, he asked bluntly, "Haruhi, would you make us something to eat?"

Both of them stopped. She fiddled with her lip thoughtfully; "I suppose. Although I'd need to go shopping first probably." She looked up at him. "And I don't have any money."

"Your used tea cup was just auctioned for $2,000. I believe you can afford it." He flashed her a grin and a credit card. "Your father and I will wait here, alright?"

"Homemade by Haruhi! 3 This is a father's dream come true!" Ranka squealed, wiggling his hips in excitement.

More than annoyed that Kyoya had _auctioned off her used items_, Haruhi took the card and let herself out quickly.

Ranka smiled. "Ootori-san, you and I have much to discuss, don't we?"

* * *

><p>AN: I have returned! And this one is a five-pager! Are you guys impressed? Eh? Eh? 8D

So next chapter we should finally finish the first episode. DX I totally didn't mean to drag it out this long, but whatever is best for the story, right? My inspiriation for this story happening while watching the beach episode and the bedroom scene, (episode 8? I think?), so that's one of my goals; to get that far. ^u^

Love to all of you! Please review! If this chapter gets fifteen reviews, I will post the next chapter before next Wednesday~!

Hannah


	9. Girl

Haruhi finished shopping at the super market quickly, remembering almost entirely where everything was from when she used to shop for her and her dad. As she walked home, she absently picked at her coat, wondering what on _earth_ Kyoya Ootori was.

__He hasn't tried almost anything with me, and he keeps giving me things. __ She sighed, then snorted_. ___And yet he is still holding my price over my head. What kind of person ___is ___he? __

Lugging the bags up the stairs turned out to be heavier than she had expected, so that took a bit of concentration. But opening the apartment door to find Kyoya and her father leaning together like old friends was disconcerting. Old friends discussing something important, but still.

They both looked up and Ranka began waving. "Haruhi!" He flipped his hair and bolted up to greet her. "Let Daddy help you with the bags!"

She rolled her eyes. Some things never change. "I should be able to make dinner within an hour. Is that alright, senpai?" She gave a nod in Kyoya's direction, wincing a bit as her father dropped the bag roughly with the fruit inside.

Kyoya gave a short nod. "Go ahead. I am going to step outside for a moment."

Nodding and turning to the kitchen, she smiled slowly. _I can make whatever I want._ The grin grew. _Whatever I want in my own private kitchen._

Kyoya adjusted his glasses outside the door, a tiny knowing smile on his lips. Quietly he whispered, "See you in the morning, Haruhi."

* * *

><p>"Dad!" The table was all ready and the food was about to start becoming cold if he didn't get in here with Senpai <em>now<em>. "Dad! Dinner!"

Ranka, the ban on the kitchen lifted, peeked out, then smiled widely, "My baby! It smells delicious!" He scrambled over to sit ready for her to seat herself, watching her, smiling the whole time. He reached over to take her hand. "I missed you, Haruhi."

She ignored the comment and looked around. "Where's Kyoya-Senpai?"

Ranka laughed. "I don't know what's wrong with him, Haruhi. But he wants you to live here," he looked at his daughter, old guilt in his eyes, "indefinitely."

* * *

><p>Kyoya's alarm was going of again. Or was it Tamaki calling? Haruhi... Haruhi get that! Somebody! I'm sleeping!<p>

"Wake UP!"

Suddenly he felt something hit his back, causing a blurry, angry, fumbling for glasses. "What?" He snapped, finally realizing the alarm clock was actually Haruhi standing over him. She looked... angry? Confused? It was hard to read. (This early in the morning)

"Senpai, I don't get it. Why did you buy me?

He snorted, letting his head loll into his sheet-covered knees. When he looked back up, he looked directly into her eyes smiling beautifully, confusingly, "Why do _you_ think?"

She shrugged, her face still calculating. "You have proved me wrong on every account of why I had thought men buy women _on the black market_, so I can honestly say that I do not know. You confuse me to no ends, and please know that I do not say that lightly."

He sat up slowly, his head bowed and fumbling for his glasses. When his chin lifted from his skin-clad chest, (with muscles rippling softly, much to Haruhi's displeasure), he smiled a bit. "Well, I am not a normal man buying anything from the black market. Especially in your case." He rolled his shoulders back gently, as if testing if they had withstood the night. "Don't you wish to live with your father again? Or do you prefer here?" Another smile trailed across his mouth, dissolving into business again quickly.

She sighed. Reached for her long hair before realizing it's absense, Kyoya noticed. _Where did I put my planner?_

"It's not that I minded living here, but you have to admit this is a strange move for you. You seem to be more..." she paused, "tactical than this. As you still own my rights, it would make the most sense to keep me nearby to keep an eye on. Especially now that I have a secret behind the backs of everyone at school while I am in one of the most known clubs. If this were a game of chess, this could very well be the first check, Senpai."

He began laughing. A nasty habit he had seemed to pick up every time Haruhi showed her true intelligence. "Would it be, really? Do you know all the moves?" He met her eyes, another sign that they had definitely moved past the owner/owned relationship. "What would your reaction be if I stole a kiss?"

She didn't blush. She didn't giggled. It was strange; while most girls did that and become effortlessly more attractive, she didn't and _boy_ Kyoya might need some help after this. She simply said, "You wouldn't do that. What would the end result be? In all probability, you have kissed girls before and it is obvious that I have kissed before as well. So it wouldn't give either of us anything new. It would be illogical, Senpai."

Chuckling again, he swung his legs around underneath him, kneeling up to her level. "You underestimate us, Fujioka." He caught her lower lip with his teeth, tugging slightly before she had leaned into him, sealing off their mouths for the rest of the room. He ran his tongue experimentally across the part of her mouth, withdrawing from her face with a grin. "Checkmate is only a few sharp moves away. We are hosts, are we not?"

* * *

><p>Even after a cup of tea, Haruhi was not in a good mood that day. She nodded during first class, trying to avoid the twins' stares. During break they pounced on her. "Haruhi~!"<p>

"We missed you!"

"All night!"

She swatted away Kaoru's cuddles and Hikaru's pokes. "Cut it out, I'm not in the mood."

Kaoru continued his carresses, but still sighed and asked, "Aww, Haruhi, why?"

Hikaru was making paper airplanes. "What's the bad mood from?" He tossed one dangerously close to the class rep's head.

She swatted Kaoru again, finally allowing her breathing room as he drew away, looking a bit hurt. "Sorry guys," Haruhi sighed, fingering a bit of hair. "I'm just not feeling well today. Must be something I ate."

Hikaru looked over, mid-plane. "You know, Kaoru,"

"when you're sick, Hikaru,"

"You have to go to the school nurse." They finished together, grinning.

Across the school, in class 2-A, a certain person pricked up. "Kyoya," he said, whipping his head around wildly, "I sense a disturbance."

* * *

><p>While the trip to the nurse's office was unspectacular, including only an uncooperative Haruhi, cheshire-grin twins, and the little group being stormed by the other worried members of the host club, Kyoya did get a chance to talk to Haruhi briefly before club began that day.<p>

"I would appreciate it if you did not feign illness anymore, Haruhi. I had to send out letters to the guests assuring them of your safety. That will, of course, be added to your bill."

It seemed as if time was going slower for Haruhi today. It was going in bursts; a few minutes going by in the blink of an eye, then hours dragging by like weeks. She nodded at him, feeling time begin to rush again, and suddenly she was told to serve tea to Tamaki's regular guest, the one he called Princess. (Among the dozen others)

She seemed only interested in the bag incident from yesterday, though.

"Oh really?" She asked, sipping her tea, as Haruhi confessed (again) to how she had dropped her bag out of the window. "That must have been terrible. I can't imagine what I'd do if my bag fell into the pond."

_Why did she request me when it's obvious she doesn't like me?_

"And you actually made Tamaki search that dirty, old pond with you; that's astonishing. You don't realize he's a blue-blood and not a commoner, right?" She continued, resting her chin on her folded hands. "The only reason he's paying attention to you is because he's trying to turn you into a gentleman."

_Ah._

The lady looked up at Haruhi with hateful eyes. "Don't start thinking he cares about you just because he's doting on you."

"Now I understand." _This is so petty_. "You're jealous of me."

She watched the girl's eyes open wider then get dark. In one swift move, she slid out her chair, leaning the table with it, with the only thing running through Haruhi's mind was, _No! Not another vase!_ As she scrambled to catch it. The table rolled away, leaving Haruhi crouching on top of the Princess. She stared as the girl called out for help.

She had never been on this side before. She had never been the one on top, the one not crying and shaking and shouting for help. She couldn't form any words to explain how_ idiotic_ a sexual assault was from _her_ was, leaving her mouth hanging open slightly.

"Teach this commoner a lesson!"

Haruhi watched as suddenly, two identical streams of water soaked the Princess to the skin. She glared up, spitting, "Why did you do that?"

Tamaki had arrived silently, helping the girl to her feet. She leaned heavily on him, Haruhi noticed, still on the floor, and cried up at him like he was the greatest thing in the world.

"Do something, Tamaki." She sighed as he helped her wet hair out from her eyesight. "Haruhi just assaulted me!"

He spoke without even opening his eyes. "I'm disappointed in you."

Haruhi looked up. _Wait, what?_

"You threw his bag into the pond, didn't you?"

She babbled; "You don't know that; do you have any proof that I did?"

Haruhi couldn't stop staring at the blonde. _What is he doing? What is he doing?_

He lifted her face, tilting it up towards his own. "You know," he said, his voice dreamy, "You're a beautiful girl. But you're not classy enough to be our guest, dear. There's one thing I know; Haruhi is not that kind of a man."

_Not that kind of a man. He thinks that about me? Why? What does that mean?_

She sobbed, running out of the room yelling.

Tamaki turned his attention to the girl on the floor. Or, in his mind, the boy on the floor. "Now," he began, placing his chin on his fist, "How am I going to punish you? It was your fault, after all."

He pointed to her face, deciding loudly, "Your quota is now one thousand!"

Kyoya smiled, jotting a note down in his ledger. _That's satisfactory._

"Come on," Tamaki instructed, pulling Haruhi up by the arm, "I've got high expectations for you, my little rookie." He winked.

_And now he's _winking_ at me?_

Kyoya was there after a moment, holding a bag. "This is the only spare uniform we have." He handed it to her. "Sorry, but it's better than a wet one, right?"

She peeked in the bag, not noticing the cocky grin hidden on Kyoya's face. "Thanks a lot, you guys. I'm gonna go change."

Kyoya adjusted his glasses. _I believe this is where things get interesting._ He glanced at his idiot friend.

_Changing Room._

Haruhi was shrugging off her uniform shirt when a friendly voice called, "Haruhi, here you go. I brought you some towels."

She looked back at the Host Club King holding open the curtain, staring. He didn't react.

She didn't, either.

Finally he dropped the curtain, closing her off again.

Kyoya smiled, watching his friend as he ventured,

"Haruhi?"

"Yeah?"

"So..you're a girl?"

"Biologically speaking, yeah."

It only took her a moment to change into the uniform, pulling back the curtain nonchalantly.

Ootori glanced up at his blonde idiot again, watching his complete mind melt-down.

"Listen, Senpai," the girl said, sparkling with every reason boys had flocked to her in the past, "I don't really care whether you guys recognize me as a boy or a girl," she finished trying the bow, "In my opinion, it's more important for people to know you for _who_ you are rather than what _sex_ you are." _Or how _good_ at sex you are_.

The Dark Lord finally spoke, "Well, isn't this an interesting development?"

The twins laughed, "Oh, yeah."

She smiled, "Uh, you know, I have to say Senpai," she tilted her head, "I thought you were pretty cool earlier."

Tamaki snapped out of his confusion, blinked, then turned as red as freshly-made pasta.

Kyoya smiled. _Now I could be wrong, but I think we may be witnessing the beginnings of love here._

"Being a host and getting fussed over by a bunch of girls might not be that bad." Haruhi thought out loud, throwing Tamaki into another fit of gender-role confusion. "I wonder how I can pull it off?"

She perked up, "I've got it! I'll just call everyone dude and bro now!"

Kyoya smirked as Tamaki fainted. _This is going to very entertaining._

* * *

><p><em>AN: _Hello! I'm back, lovelies! Thank you all for my wonderful reviewers, I love each and every one of you: lolcari, insomniac1970, SerenityRainfall, -X-Nefertiri_-_X-, BerryEbilBunny (such a cute username, by the way! ^^), FishnetRose, Alana, and Princessmelodina! I promise that this chapter's reviewers will all be recieving review replies!

_Also, Lila, don't hate. lol_

Love you all! Kisses until the next chapter!

_(In which we begin to delve into why Haruhi and her dad got separated in the first place! 80 Yes! I'm actually finally getting there! )_

Ps: DID ANYONE ELSE GET EXCITED THAT NINE CHAPTERS IN WE HAVE FINALLY FINISHED THE FIRST EPISODE?_  
><em>


	10. Phone

((Look! Chapter titles!))

Glancing at the clock, Kyoya subtracted a few minutes and added that, along with Tamaki's name, to his ledger. _So now everyone in the club knows her secret. After their...special treatment, the twins won't try anything and will feel obliged to keep it. Huni and Mori don't have anything to gain from giving up her secret, and neither seems particularly taken with her. At least not extraordinarily so, as she has a certain charm it seems no man is immune to._

But Tamaki. _It took him three more hours than I had guessed for his little brain to put all the pieces together._ The boy had figured out the Princess was behind Haruhi's bag without a doubt before Kyoya had made a final decision, but he hadn't noticed Haruhi's real gender until days after the others, at least in Huni's case.

Kyoya shook his hand out, avoiding showing his annoyance and fascination with his French friend in anything noticeable. He knew Tamaki was about to come talk to him, anyway.

"Kyoya! I need to speak with you!"

He turned to the blonde, noting that this interruption had happened right on schedule from what he had guessed. "Yes?"

Tamaki drew him closer, arm around his neck, "Don't be alarmed, it is an understandable mistake, but I believe that girl may be the very same as your brother-in-law's cosusin." He peeked through his light bangs, then threw his wild eyes to his friend. "I don't blame you for not realizing it, Kyoya. She's looked so different!"

Opening his mouth to speak, Kyoya was cut off again by an emphatic King, "We cannot embarrass your family can we, Kyoya? I can't allow that to happen! I will guard this secret with my life, mon ami! I will not allow the secret of Fujioka Haruhi to escape under the threat of death! One word from my lips, and you may stone me like one of the martyrs in the olden days~! Punish me swiftly, Kyoya!"

Kyoya adjusted his glasses as he felt a twin slide up on either side of them. Kaoru; hanging on Kyoya's arm, asked, "And what are _you_ two doing over here?"

Hikaru; on Tamaki's arm, snickered. "You better _punish him swiftly_, Kyoya-senpai."

He didn't say anything, turning his head just enough to the side so his glasses would be able to catch the light from the window. "I believe it is time for us to make our _adieu_ here for the day. Wouldn't you agree?" Kyoya glanced down at Kaoru, whose face was draining of color rapidly as he realized the bargaining chip his senpai had in this situation; the incident with Hikaru and the one guest a few days back. He let go of the megane's arm quickly and let him dust off his jacket calmly to leave.

Tamaki, relaxed now that his new admonition to Kyoya had been made, wandered over to get his phone. _Hmm_, he thought, _only a few new texts_, (translation: about 10-15 from his guests)... his thoughts trailed off as he scrolled through the notes. He sighed, stretching lazily, like a cat, when he realized something else.

_Haruhi is Kyoya's brother-in-law's cousin. Kyoya's brother-in-law's cousin was the one I accidentally saw at Kyoya's house_. And, for the second time that day, Tamaki experienced the feeling known as, 'all the blood rushing to your face as it turns beet red.' _I wonder if I should appologize! What do I do? I saw her...legs! She'll never be able to forgive me if she knew that I was there that day!_

He didn't know that she already knew. Haruhi, however, was unworried by anything so trivial at that point. _What should I make for dinner tonight?_ She hadn't been making up things when she told the girls that she enjoyed creating each dish.

She was shaken out of her thoughts by a certain charcoal-colored mystery. "Haruhi," he asked, smiling a devastatingly sweet, and utterly false, hosting smile and tilted his head, "May I walk you out?"

Nodding, Haruhi called her goodbyes to everyone in the room and allowed herself to be escorted into the halls. Once safely out of hearing range, Kyoya said, "Though you will now be living with your father, I still have expectations of you, Haruhi."

She looked up at him. "Like what?"

His glasses went blank in the sunlight. "What would you expect?"

She snorted. "I have no idea."

"No?"

"No. You don't seem to follow any set path of decisions, except that you work to benefit yourself, as far as I can tell." She looked around at the hallway. "And I don't know how I fit into that anymore, so no. I have no idea."

Slightly turned away, he smirked. "Is that so?" Clicking his pen open, he jotted a few things down in his ledger. "Well I suppose I will have to tell you, then."

Haruhi had been trying to see what had gone in his book. She snapped out of it and turned to him. "Hm? Okay."

"Do not be late to any club activity. That's non-negotiable." _Tamaki will probably complain; If she's late, I can be assured of headaches._ "You must always get first place in every test. No exceptions. If you don't, I will have to have you stay at my family's home until you can retake it. You are here as an honors student, so it fits with the story." He chuckled softly, "Although there is no way in this world that this school would drop you if my family had anything to do with it."

She rolled her eyes. Senpai could be so strange. "Anything else I should know?"

He paused. "Now that you have been established at school and within my group of friends for a few days, we can pass off your riding with me in the mornings. So, you must be ready an hour before the first bell everyday, and I will pick you up from your house. If you prefer, I can have you driven home as well. Oh, I would also like you to check in with me once in the evenings. A phone call will do."

Internally, Haruhi was rolling her eyes double-time._ I still get to live at home, though. Maybe the distance will unearth something about Senpai that can explain... him._ "That's fine. But I don't have a phone."

Kyoya jotted a note down, snapping the book closed. "Alright, tonight is exempt then. However, once I provide you with a phone, that rule will go into effect." '

They had arrived outside. Haruhi floundered, trying to decide whether she should speak her mind or not. He huffed after a moment and said, "Just say it."

She blew out a tiny laugh. "Why don't you ever loosen up? With the spy network you have so _secretly_ following me, why would you need me to check in?"

"Why it's simple," he said, smirking at her surprise; she hadn't expected him to be able to answer so quickly! "I want you to tell me yourself. That's it." He slid his book into his bag nonchalantly, then waited as the driver opened the car door for them.

He held out his hand for her to steady herself as she got in, but Haruhi hesitated. She looked at; the long fingers and couldn't imagine one reason to trust this person. She looked up at him, his hair ruffling his impatient expression and suddenly realized he had never _asked_.

Haruhi smiled slowly, taking his hand and watching his features while she was slid onto the leather of the seat. _He's asked about kissing me, and where I want to live, and what books I like to read, but he's never even hinted that I need to trust him. He keeps giving me choices but isn't asking for anything in return._ The edges of his features were tight, like he was holding back a bad mood and a headache.

She hugged her bag to herself, squeezing it tightly over her stomach. "Alright, Senpai," she said finally, almost reaching out for his hand. He looked up at her from deep in his thoughts, from what she could tell, and she continued, "I think I could work with those rules."

While Kyoya just nodded and slipped back into going through his phone intently, Haruhi felt light and happy. She wasn't _quite_ sure why, but she really like it. If this is what servitude to Ootori Kyoya felt like, she was pretty sure she could abide by those rules.

* * *

><p>"Kaoru? How is the new line for the summer going for your mother?"<p>

The club was far from starting, and Hikaru and Tamaki had gone to argue over who was wearing which outfit today. (Even though it had been already planned with lots of thought when they were ordered; whatever) Kyoya didn't expect Huni or Mori to arrive for another half-hour or so, and Haruhi was definitely still holed up in the library. That only left Kaoru and the dark lord in the club room; currently Kyoya was clacking around on his budgets for the next three months and trying to match those up with Tamaki's ideas for the next cosplays. Kaoru was half-laying on the desk, his entire top half draped across it, with his phone in hand, probably deleting texts.

The latter looked up, eyes lazy. "Fine, I think. I've only helped with a few this time."

Kyoya continued balancing the budget report, but asked, "Is that so? What kind of designs did you come up with?"

Smirking, Kaoru pushed his phone closed slowly and laughed. "Why? Do you want a bikini, Kyoya-senpai?"

Playing along, Kyoya stopped his work and reproduced the smirk to send back at his ginger. "If you must know, my sister's birthday is coming up and she particularly enjoys the items from your mother's work."

Kaoru rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Do you have any paper?"

It only took a second for the twin to sketch out the three designs and to turn the paper around for Kyoya to see. As he looked over the pictures, he wondered aloud, "So I wonder what this one would look like on my sister. What do you think? What kind of model wore that one?"

He twirled the pencil absently, "There were a variety of models, so mom could see what it would look like on different body types."

_Time to see if he can pick out an obvious lie_, "But what about my sister? She's small; petite, without much of a chest."

Kaoru shrugged. _He must not have ever met my sister_. "I can't remember. Kyoya-senpai, if you're that desperate to get this one for her, we can always have a new model come in to demonstrate it. I have a prototype at home."

"I'd rather not have to call in a model, her birthday is today," Kyoya said, tapping a pen against his chin. "Is there anyone you know that would fit those confines to do it on the spot?"

Kaoru laughed. "Cutting it close, eh? Well, what about Haruhi?"

_Bingo._

"Haruhi?"

Kaoru spun his cell phone on the table. "Yeah, Haruhi. She sounds like she's a pretty similar body type. What about having her model it to see if you should get your sister one?"

Kyoya feigned a jolt of genius. (Tapered down of course; Kaoru knew him well enough to see through _that_ obvious of a lie) "That sounds ideal. Could you text her and set up something for before club time?"

Rolling his eyes, Kaoru made a hissing sounds through his teeth. "She doesn't have a cell phone, senpai. I guess you'll just have to talk to her during the club today like everyone else." With that, he slapped the host club's dark lord on the back and wandered away, whistling and twirling his cell phone.

_Operation: Provide Haruhi with a Cell Phone; attempt one? Success._

* * *

><p>Clapping, Kyoya called, "Alright, everyone! Out of the changing rooms, the guests will begin to arrive any minute!"<p>

He checked his watch. Haruhi was late. _I wonder what she thought we were talking about yesterday_, he huffed angrily. Shaking his head slightly, he sighed and called for the others again. They had to get into their opening positions _before_ the guests got here, idiots.

Positioning everyone quickly, he heard someone running up to the door. He smirked, for lack of a better way to channel his annoyance. _And, of course, here she is now._

Haruhi burst in the room, with an immediate look of disdain on her face.

The twins spoke up, "You finally made it, Haruhi. You're so late."

Kyoya slid his glasses up his nose. _She better have been studying._

The group was already breaking pose _before_ the ladies arrived. Mori was running Huni around like a mad person and Tamaki was off on an excited spree about kotatsu tables again.

He knew an opening when he saw one, though. "Do you have a problem with the way we run our club, Haruhi? Be careful what you say, you owe us eight million yen, remember."

Haruhi groaned, letting her head loll. She felt like she couldn't win with him. _Although I was late today. I should probably actually try my best with the ladies._

Tamaki danced over, taking her by the shoulder. "Gentlemen don't bundle up in bulky clothing,"

_I wonder how much that fan cost._

"It may be chilly early spring out there in the real world,"

_Does he pose like this at home, too?_

"but here at the club we want to surprise our little kittens with a warm tropical paradise."

_I wonder if he cosplays to bed?_

"Oh yes! We've turned this place into Nirvana!"

_Get your hand off me._

"A balmy, tropical island of everlasting summer!"

"That's funny because I feel a massive chill right now."

The host club was still a foreign item to Haruhi, though. As she served the tea and snacks, she witnessed more confusing relations between the hosts. Plus, the girls were screeching overtime. "The ladies seem even more worked up than usual today."

She looked up at Kyoya, who was, shirtlessly, taking notes on something. _Or maybe he just plays hang-man. I've gotta see that book sometime!_

"Showing some skin proves popular with the ladies," he remarked, calm in his state of un-hosting. _Why doesn't he actually sit with any of the ladies?_ Haruhi wondered, _I know he was requested today._

Looking around at the lavish room, she ventured, "So are you the one who came up with this tropical paradise idea?"

"I have no decision-making authority. All of the club's policies have been laid out by the club's king, Tamaki." He grinned, adjusting his glasses. "But, I guess there's no harm in admitting to casually slipping a Bali photo book on his desk."

Haruhi rolled her eyes. He was so weird. "Can I go home as soon as club is over, Senpai?"

"By the way," Kyoya asked, acting as if he hadn't heard her, "How is your studying for that upcoming test, Haruhi?"

"I didn't have time to study thoroughly, Senpai," she mumbled, "I'm still trying to figure out how to study around _this_," she said, motioning to everything around her.

"I know you'll figure something out." He glanced her way, smirking again. "By the way, you can expect a phone to arrive sometime before you leave today, Haruhi. Once you have it, you may go."

_Well, at least that's good._

* * *

><p>The hosting was easy and Haruhi finished in a better mood then when she's started. After she'd seen her guests out and changed into more comfortable clothes, she wandered over to the table where Kyoya was inputting data of some kind into a spread sheet.<em> How does everything he does look so horribly boring?<em>

The twins were bothering Tamaki, who was holed up in the corner eating more Ramen than Haruhi could bear to look at, while Huni was leaning on her armrest, Mori close by.

Kyoya's face was unreadable. _I wonder if he's actually thinking about the party planning_, she wondered, trying to understand his deadpan expression, _he's not like this when it's just the two of us, is he?_ She tuned back in when she heard her name. Kyoya was saying,

"He shouldn't be surprise; Princess Kosuka has had the illness for a while now, hasn't she?"

Haruhi perked up, worried, "What illness?"

"She's got the host-hopping disease." Hikaru piped up, spreading his hands.

"A.K.A., the never-the-same-boy-twice disease." Kaoru added.

_Jeez, I know how she feels._

"Usually," Kyoya said, not looking up for his typing, "our guests pick a favorite host then see them regularly, however Princess Konako tends to change her favorites on a regular basis."

"That's right!" Huni bubbled, "'Cause before she was with you, she was with Tama-chan."

Haruhi rolled her eyes. "Oh. So he's upset because I took her from him?"

"SHUT UP! I COULDN'T CARE LESS!" He closed his eyes, obviously troubled, "I'm running out of patience! Haruhi, it's time you started dressing like a girl!"

Huni was hiding behind Kyoya's chair. Haruhi gave him a deadpan look. "Huh?"

The King was holding his head and blubbering, "I don't understand how you could be so popular with the ladies when _you yourself are a lady!_ No one else in the entire school knows the truth except for those of us here."

Kyoya finished his typing. _You better be careful, my little idiot._ He adjusted his glasses.

Hikaru raised his hand. "Yeah, she opted out of taking gym classes."

"And the attendance numbers are all mixed together, so no one can tell." Kaoru put in.

Tamaki dashed off, coming back pushing some kind of trunk. He dug through it quickly, "That's enough, Haruhi! Now you listen to Daddy;"

He shoved a large framed picture of her (fake) middle school picture in her face, "DADDY WANTS YOU GO BACK TO LOOKING LIKE THIS!"

Haruhi bristled, yelling right back, "DON'T GO BLOWING UP MY PICTURES WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!" _And Senpai is going to be hearing it about producing a fake photo ID._

The group huddled around the picture (now hung on the wall), while Hikaru said, "The more I look at this, the more amazed I am. How could _this_ possibly become _that_?" The nightmarish picture of Haruhi's first day of school skimmed everyone's thoughts.

"The day before school started, one of the kids in my neighbor got some gum in my hair." She said, wondering if this was a good enough lie for Senpai. "It's a real pain to get gum out of long hair, so I decided to cut it all off. I didn't care if I looked like a dude, you know?" Actually, it was really nice. Haruhi wouldn't admit this to Kyoya, on principle, but hiding her gender was almost relaxing. At first it had been just one more change to adjust to, but now it was nice; calm. In all honesty, she was hoping she could keep it this way for a while.

But Tamaki was blubbering again. "Nnnnng! A GIRL SHOULD NEVER REFER TO HERSELF AS A _DUDE_!" He cried in her face, "Momma! Haruhi's using those dirty boy words again!" The blonde slipped to the ground, nursing his swelling tear-filled eyes and snot-filled nose.

"I'm sorry, but who is 'Momma'?" Kaoru asked, turning to Kyoya. (He had kept out of the argument for note-taking sake; or at least, information gathering)

"Based on club position, I would assume it's me." He responded, rolling his eyes mentally at his idiot.

Haruhi, standing over him spoke out, "Look, I don't know what you're crying about. Working as a host I can pay back more of my debt. It'll never happen if I'm just an errand boy!"

Kyoya hid a smirk. One more pronoun to add to Tamaki's distress.

"Hey Haruhi, not to change the subject, but do you have formal dancing experience? You'll need it at the party."

Haruhi's eyes snapped up to Hikaru's. _Crap, what?_ "Uhh, no?" She said, her voice distressed, "But that doesn't have anything to do with my quota, right? I'm not interested in going to events so if I could be excused..."

Kyoya counted down from three as he thought; _Tamaki will never let her go from this if she's just insulted his precious grip on reality. Yep, there he goes. It will be interesting to see Haruhi dance. I suppose I'll have to arrange something._

"-or I'll tell the entire school you're a girl, and knock you back down to errand boy!" Tamaki finished with a flourish, Kyoya watching her shaking features. _This was going to be interesting. I wonder if she knows that I could get her out of this?_

* * *

><p>Finally able to leave, Haruhi grabbed her bag and was just into the hall when she felt someone hug her from behind. "What the-?"<p>

"Haruhi, I've got a present for you!"

She swiveled around, trying to keep Hikaru's hug at bay, frowning again. "Is it not hugging me like that again? 'Cause I'd appreciate that."

Kaoru, from no where, laughed. He crossed his arms, grinning his Cheshire grin. "We were just thinking,"

"We can't call you, Haruhi,"

"Here, take this,"

"It's one of our cell phones,"

"And since we're always together,"

"-it makes no sense to have two,"

"Right?" They finished together, smiling and holding out an average looking phone. "Then we'll be able to make sure you're okay." Kaoru smiled.

_Great, just what I need; more people checking up on me all the time._

She smiled, though. Even though it seemed like Kyoya-senpai was forcing them to do this, it _was_ awfully nice. "I don't know how good I'll be at calling or texting, but I appreciate you guys thinking of me." _I need Kyoya-senpai's number._ "Um, also, is everyone else's number in here from the club?"

The twins glanced at each other. Hikaru shrugged; Kaoru rolled his eyes and smiled. "In the contacts. Do you know how to get there?"

She had already found Hikaru's number; she had Kaoru's phone, and the former jumped as his phone began vibrating in his pocket. All the text said was, "..."

Hikaru snorted, taking her left elbow. "Come on,"

Kaoru looped his arm through her right, "We'll walk you out."

The walk to the door was uneventful, but a small victory for her nonetheless, not being monitored every second of the day by Senpai, and Kaoru made sure she knew to call them when she was home safe. Hikaru grinned. "And you can tell us about anything exciting that happens on the way home."

Like exciting stuff ever happens like that.

* * *

><p>On the way home, her cell phone rang. Haruhi stared for a moment before opening it and pressing it to her ear, "Uhh, hello?"<p>

_"Ah good, you did get the cell phone. I was confident that one of the twins would be so gracious as to give you theirs. May I ask which one was the kind one?"_

She rolled her eyes. "Senpai, do we have to do this? I'm not in the mood. And I have no idea how I'm going to learn to dance..." she mumbled, picking at her thumb nail with the phone cradled to her shoulder.

_"I have that covered. Just be on time tomorrow. Haruhi, I expect more from you."_

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry about that." Kinda. "The expectations and whatnot. I got it. So do I still have to call tonight?"

_"What do you think?"_

She could almost see that haughty smirk.

"After dinner, though. I'm making a stew."

_"Haruhi, are you ever going to tell me how this all started for you, anyway?"_

"..."

"After dinner, Senpai. Not a minute before."

_"..."_

_"I'll be expecting it."_

* * *

><p>AN:_ So! _I promised review replies. =) Also, thank you SO much to kuromangafan for pointing out my mistranslation of Tama's thoughts in chapter 2 and re-translating it correctly! The new and improved French is up if you'd like to be dazzled by the amazingness!

: Of course, darling! Probably once a week?

Electric_Breeze: My pleasure! I hope you continue to enjoy it!

Lord_Anubis_Judge_of_the_dead: Thank you! Hopefully it stays that way!

-X-Nefertiri-X-: XDD Yay!

Abbs: I know it's going to take you a while to see this, but thanks! I'm so happy you're reading it! (By the way Lila, are you going to review this chapter?)

Alana: I wish I could have gone into more detail for you! It's coming though, although slowly. XD

kuromangafan: Thank you again, darling! Well, I started out because I wanted to write the beach episode, so definitely up until then. =) Don't fret, though! Episode one just had a lot I wanted to incorporate, while other episodes won't need as much, so episode 8 is closer than you may think! ^^

Ari: Well, I am here to serve the needs of my guests~ ^^' But thank you so much! I'm so glad you're enjoying it!

HinaLuvLuvChan: Right? XD Finally!

nyrac6275: Thank you so much! Hopefully soon we'll be getting to some of the deeper stuff, as well. ^^ And don't worry! I don't think you'll have to wait that long, because I can't either!

lolcari: Sorry about the confusion! Haruhi did move back in with Ranka, but she wanted to speak with Kyoya before school, so she went to somewhere she knew she could find him in the morning; _in bed_. Hehe. XD

FishnetRose: THANK YOU! 8D I'm so glad you're enjoying it! It's been very good to me in the writing department, too. xD  
>(How about we share the fantastic? *splits in half* ^^)<p>

BerryEbilBunny: Aww thank you! =D I hope it will be splendiferously epic! As for Kyoya's enigmaticy towards Haruhi, I can't say completely, (because Kyoya's an anomaly, even to me), but I would say he's a hard nut to crack for anyone. His relationships with others change from person to person, making him really hard to read. With Haruhi though, he knows he has someone that _has _to put up with any stupid/clever/sporatic/spontaneous/caring/cruel thing he does. He doesn't quite know what do with her yet, (yes, you read me right, I don't think even Kyoya knows why he got involved in that alley that day!), but she's too much of a curiousity to completely disreguard. Sorry lol. That might have made you more confused. XD

Sorry I didn't delve into any Ranka&Haruhi explanations; as I was writing this part, it didn't seem right. I think it's going to have to be more of revealing little by little. Dsiculpa, mi amigos!

Love! -Hannah_  
><em>


	11. Massage

After watching how the guests had behaved the day before, Kyoya had contacted Miss Kosuko, canceling Haruhi's other requests and bringing in only the Princess. "Thank you for coming," He said, smiling for her as she entered the music room, "Haruhi will be along shortly. Would you like some tea while you wait?"

Konako smiled softly back at him, although everything seemed soft about her._ Konako Kosuko._ He thought, analyzing her with his internal memory bank. _Formerly engaged, now that status is uncertain. Mild-mannered but flaky, as proven in the host club. Good grades, but needs a math tutor from time to time._

As expected, the lady waited patiently, (and quietly) for her dance partner, sipping her tea slowly. Haruhi arrived late, (also as expected), mumbling apologies for being late two days in a row.

Annoyingly, almost no one was hosting properly today. Tamaki was sulking in the window, (he wanted to dance with Haruhi), while his guests eagerly made him colorful little cards trying to cheer him up.

Hikaru and Kaoru were wandering around, chatting with Tamaki, Tamaki's guests, Huni and Mori, _Are they _trying_ to avoid their guests?_

Finally Kyoya just shook his head, trying to find some solace in all of this. T_here will have to be some revenue for today_, he thought, trying to placate his brain spinning around the numbers the club was losing for just idling.

_Huni and Mori's guests look happy at least._ He glanced at the dancing pair, letting all the positivity he had conjured up drip out his ear. _She's terrible. She looks like she's never used her feet_. He sighed. _I suppose I will have to set up more lessons. What a bother. Why couldn't she have tried to get out of it?_

When the new teacups arrived, he finally smiled. Kyoya greeted the boy, "Ah, thank you. Every item you've picked for us has been very popular with the ladies. I'm impressed."

Suzushima smiled, though it was nothing to write home about. _His mannerisms are much the same as Princess Konako, though,_ he noted.

"That's good to hear."

Haruhi was suddenly by Kyoya's side. "So, do you sell teasets?"

Handing over the box, Suzushima laughed. "No, I'm just a regular student. Can't you tell by the uniform?"

"Oh Haruhi," the lady laughed from behind the trio. "You're so funny."

Kyoya turned, only for record's sake, to here her go on, "I can't blame you for not knowing. After all, he doesn't really look like an heir to a first-class company."

Just out of the corner of his eye and the tiny gasp he heard, he could tell that startled, (at least) the boy.

"First-class company?" Haruhi wondered quietly, glancing to Kyoya for clarification.

"His family's business, the Suzushima trading company, deals primarily in the importing of tableware. They currently have the top market share in the country." And _that_ was just what he could remember off the top of his head. Also, both of the non-hosts book-ending him were looking quite melancholy. _Could it be that their strained engagement isn't of their own doing?_ He wondered, wishing he could look up his data on his laptop. _Or maybe Suzushima is being _sent_ to study abroad?_

Haruhi was still looking at the teacup box, though. "Wow," she mused.

"So, whenever something exceptional comes in," Kyoya continued, not missing a beat, "I ask him to send it our way."

Looking up from the box abruptly, Haruhi seemed to know Suzushima's stares at Miss Konako.

Kyoya continued his drabble, watching Haruhi from the corner of his eye. _Is she sensitive to things like that?_ "He has a great eye for fine china; Don't you Suzushima?" He was trying to see if the boy's eyes left Konako for a second.

Finally, finally, he regained working consciousness and smiled. "You think? I've still got a lot to learn; but thank you!"

So let's ask him. He would be the most reliable source of information, after all. Kyoya didn't even know why or what he was digging for. He just wanted to find out the answers to the questions he had been thinking, and he wanted to do it now.

"Aren't you leaving next month to study abroad in England?"

"Yes, I am."

_Konako's head just drooped; they must still have feelings for each other. I wonder why their engagement is so strained, then?_

"Well, I better go now."

Kyoya watched the scene play out, wondering what kind of person would let themselves get so wrapped up in another. _Unacceptable for an Ootori. I suppose not everyone has the same class and obstaining that we have._

* * *

><p>"Mmm, that's...ac-acceptable; right there."<p>

The bristles scratching through his short hair felt so _good_. Kyoya leaned his head in as close as he could, letting the brush pull and tug on his scalp. _Her soft little hands._ He could feel his phone filling up with messages, but this was _his_ time. _Mmf...Haruhi-_

"Shall I massage your head as well, Mr. Ootori?"

It was the masseuse. He sighed slightly, letting his bikini-clad Haruhi fantasies die as he agreed with a small, "Do so."

He pulled his phone up to his face, extra close as his glasses were still sitting on the night stand. _Kaoru, Kaoru, Tamaki... H_e rolled his eyes, counting the massive texting spam his best friend had sent him, seventeen times. _And... eleven calls from him._

Tamaki's incessant calling was enough to deal with for one night, but now he had someone else to expect. As he scrolled, he noticed one missed call from Hikaru's phone. _Damn...it._ He sighed aloud as the masseuse worked a particularly difficult kink out of his naked back. She already called. _Is there..._ His thoughts trailed off, leaving him searching for a voice mail.

_Ah, here she is. _

_ "Um, hi, Senpai."_

He could _almost_ still imagine that it was her little hands so expertly rendering him into jello when her voice was in his ear like this. He wiggled slightly.

_"This is my check-in call. I'm not sure what you want to know, but I'm fine. I made dinner and Dad's still home and I'm fine."_

_ That reminds me, I've got to look into her original buyer._

_"...anyway, that's it. Sleep well, I suppose...and I'll see you in the morning."_

The machine began to ask him if he wanted to replay the message, but Kyoya saved it and ended the call. He sat up suddenly, watching the girl who had been working her magic jump back in surprise.

He chuckled. "So is this a normal occurrence for you?" Replacing his glasses, Kyoya stood, towering over her. "Touching men after they strip down for you?"

The girl stuttered, unsure of how to respond. When she didn't, he ran his fingertips over her jaw, lifting her frenzied face to look into his own. "How does it make you feel? Does it make you nervous that, as a man, I could take advantage of you so easily?"

She was frantic. But she didn't say anything, not even when he leaned down, his lips hovering millimeters away from hers, letting his breath wash over them._ Stop_. He thought. _Time out. What am I doing? Where's the fun in this?_ He backed away, smirking. She's so silent. He strode over to where his shirt was, waving a hand in the air. "You may go now."

* * *

><p>Haruhi sprayed the water numbly over the pot, her mind spinning with ten things at once.<p>

_I should have used the other spices in that dish. _

_ Why didn't Senpai pick up my call?_

_ What is Dad thinking about now that I'm home? _

_ I need to finish my homework, and I still haven't finalized my thesis for writing class._

"Haruhi?"

She turned, seeing Ranka, dressed in comfortable (more manly) clothing, his hair pulled back casually. "Hi, Dad. I'm almost done if you need to get in here."

He stayed in the doorway but laughed a bit. "No, you are fine. Dinner was good. I've missed your cooking. Did you get to do much while... you were gone?"

"...no. I was busy."

He sighed, bristling with tired anger. "Haruhi, you know I would have-"

"-Yes. But I'd rather not talk about it."

She was turned, drying the pot slowly when she felt two strong arms loop around her waist and squeeze her lovingly. From her hair she heard, "I love you. You'll always be my baby and I love you." He leaned closer to her ear and whispered quietly, quietly, "And I'm sorry. I would do anything to have protected you." A wet spot dropped onto her shoulder. "I looked everywhere-I just-couldn't anywhere...you were gone. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

She couldn't relax, there were too many experiences screaming at her that this situation was _bad_, even though her mind knew _This is Dad! He loves me and would never hurt me!_ Still, she drew away and turned towards him, drawing up a small smile.

"It's okay. I love you too, but I have some homework to do." She patted his arm lightly, and exited the room, leaving a teary Ranka in her wake.

* * *

><p>AN: Hello~!

Sorry it's a bit shorter today, but I wanted to give you guys something! Plus it's got sexytime!Kyoya and Ranka and Haruhi talking. XD I am a complete TROLL, yeah?

Anyway, I can't do review replies today, (I promise I read and love each one~!) but if there are any burning questions you asked last chapter, please re-ask them. I promise to do replies next chapter!

Love to all of you!

Hannah


	12. Kiss

"Senpai?"

Haruhi was, and had been, dressed and ready for a half hour already. Around the twenty minute mark, she had called Senpai's driver and come over to get him herself. _Be ready an hour before school. Promptly an hour before. What. Ever._

She stood over his sprawled out self, taking in every detail of his disarray. Wondering if this meant nights really did render him vulnerable; if he was more destructible, readable, _tangible_, at night. His hair was fluffy, fluffier than she had guessed it had the capacity of being. _He looks different without his glasses,_ she mused, crossing her arms and ignoring the fact, (just this once!) that they were both running late.

It was at the same moment when she was taking in his skin, (which was really soft looking in his shirtless-ness) when his phone began buzzing.

She looked from him to the phone._ He barely even stirred_. Rolling her eyes, Haruhi went over to the nightstand, looking at the thing curiously. Her eyes widened slightly, _Oh,_ she thought, _just Suoh-san._

Before, well, _now_, she had never been expected to answer her master's phone. Hell, she might have been punished for_ touching_ it. Glancing slightly over at his sleeping form, Haruhi couldn't quite imagine him dolling out punishments like..._that. Still, me answering Senpai's phone at... 7:15 in the morning wouldn't look good for either of us._

She looked back to him,_ I wonder... what it would feel like to wake up next to him_. She sat down next to the bed, cupping her chin in her hand, not acknowledging how strange a path her thoughts were taking. If she had, she would have probably attributed it to the hurried breakfast she had inhaled before Master had been scheduled to arrive.

_Not sex. Not kissing. Just cuddled up next to him, waking up being held by him._ She cocked her head. _How many days has it been since I've been taken? How long has it been since I could count it in days?_ Haruhi shook her head, her hands shaking slightly. It wasn't that...she... wanted that ...stuff to happen. But... her body... she shuddered. It just wasn't used to this strange new liberation anymore.

_I've got to... What am I doing?_ Haruhi had circled the bed, staring down at that peaceful face with force. She almost felt as if she was watching herself from above as she leaned down. Her mouth twitched with something like anxiety as she grew closer to his face. _There's no turning back if I kiss him!_ She warned herself desperately. _Taking initiative without permission is _definitely_ not allowed in this kind of relationship!_ But all the while something screaming back at herself,_ I just want to try!_ So she pushed her mouth hesitantly against his, gently pressing into him. Everything about what she was doing was wrong, except she could feel every twitch of his (surprisingly!) soft lips and could hear the teensy happy moan that escaped from his mouth into hers, engraving itself into her brain and making up for her half-hearted misgivings.

Suddenly, she regained herself. Pulling away, she covered her lips desperately. _What did I DO that for?_

Every experience she'd EVER been through screaming at her, she mentally beat herself. _We need to get to school._ Her logic kicked back in, boxing up the tiny, (_Was that what a real kiss feels like? That wasn't scary at all!_) and pushing it to the back of her brain.

"Ehh... Haruhi?" A gravely voice from behind her asked. "What are you doing here?"

Tossing a shirt behind her, Haruhi gruffly called, "We're late. School starts soon."

* * *

><p>She was strangely aggravated today, he noticed. Kyoya left her alone, letting it ride off as quietness and not annoyance. He had dreamt of her last night; <em>Although I doubt she would ever take the initiative to kiss me out of the blue. That is something that I can't imagine ever figuring incorrectly.<em> He glanced at her. _She looks so upset. Hmm. I'll have to keep an eye on that._

_It's gonna be a long day._

* * *

><p>"Kyoya!"<p>

It was between third and forth class that the Hitachiins caught up with the Dark Lord. (Who was a bit less dark today; he had had good dreams last night)

Kaoru was waving a piece of paper around: Hikaru slung his arm happily around his Senpai. "Did the Boss tell you the plan for tonight?"

_The party. I haven't talked to Tamaki since 9:02 p.m. last night when he rang my phone eighteen times between 8:52 p.m. and 9:01 p.m. until I finally gave in and answered._ "The plan for the party. Care to enlighten me?"

"We're dressing Haruhi up like a girl."

"It was the Boss's idea."

"So she can go take to Senor Bo-ring and get him to make up with our resident host-hopper."

"But we need some way to get him to meet Haruhi privately."

"Any ideas?" They finished together, grinning their Cheshire smiles.

He shifted his glasses up. "I suppose I can help with that." He paused, noting his cell phone vibrating again. "How about over lunch? We can discuss it then, yes?"

Glancing at the caller ID, Kyoya's eyes widened slightly. "Well, I will see you then." He threw back at the twins, and strode off in search of a quiet hallway to receive this call.

"What was that about?" Kaoru asked, glancing at Hikaru.

"Ootori." Kyoya answered, after taking a small breath.

_"You're the guy who wanted to know about that bratty kid?"_

He bristled, struggling to not allow it show in his voice. "I wanted to inquire on her condition when you acquired her. Is now a good time for you to discuss this or shall we set up an alternate time to talk?"

_"Jeez, just ask your questions. I don't have time for this bull."_

He smirked, playing dumb. "There is, to my knowledge, no bovine involved in this case. However, I wanted to find out; who sold her to you? You were the first of her buyers, yes?"

There was a grin in his voice. _"I got it unused, if that's what you mean. Nice and tight, dude. I-"_

"No need for that. I'd rather know why she was being sold. Were you privvy to that knowledge?"

_"Bro, I wanted a quick lay when I wanted a quick lay so I wasn't askin' no questions, you know what I mean? As long as it was new and unused, I didn't care where the hell she came from."_

"Ah, so you use proper pronouns as well! A welcome change. Can you at least give me the name of who sold her to you?"

_"It was this queer dude. At least, I think it was a dude. He was real nervous, and kept tellin' me to 'be easy on her' or whatever. So I decided to hassle her a little right there. He cried."_

_Ranka? Why would he sell his daughter when it was clear he did not want to?_

"...Ah, yes. Was there anyone else there with him?"

_"Uhhh, yeah. A funny lookin' guy with a tat on his cheek."_

"Thank you for the information. I will have my men return to their base; although if I catch you doing anything else illegal, you _will_ be deported then. Have a nice day."

_"Dude I-"_

He hung up the cell phone. "A tattoo on his cheek. Hmm."

* * *

><p>Though she could tell Tamaki-Senpai's planning left something to be desired, (as made known by Kyoya's request for something to take for a "growing headache"), Haruhi was happy as she looked over the outfit Dad had dressed her in.<p>

While he had been desperate to put her in a beautifully-made, utterly despised (by Haruhi) pink dress, she had quickly explained her position in the host club and how it would have been inappropriate for her to dress in anything other than boy's clothes.

It hadn't been easy, (Ranka had a good three inches on his daughter, unless he was in his favorite heels), but they had managed to come up with a nice blue vest, suit coat and almost-matching pants. She had loved the feel of the button-up shirt and vest, assuring herself she wouldn't get sent to change in an outfit like this one. (Although Senpai had been pretty unpredictable today, so who knows)

The text he sent her had read, _Be in the Music Room in half an hour. Don't be late._ Although she knew exactly who it was from, she wasn't quite sure _why._ Three weeks ago she would have expected it to be door locked, pants down. But with Kyoya-senpai... things weren't that simple. (Not that she was complaining!)

_Actually,_ she mused, _My mind hasn't been this busy in ages. It's kind of... nice, not knowing what's coming next, and being able to fill my days with things other than someone I don't like banging me and hoping for _good_ food for once._

Although she was beginning to notice how little things set her off in different directions lately, something she had sworn to pay more attention to and fix before Senpai noticed and tried to step in.

So here she was, dressed in Dad's old suit, opening the Music Room's door hesitantly. The back of a dark tailcoat greeted her, phone pressed to his ear.

Ending the call quickly, he turned, dazzlingly brilliant in the tailored, high-class outfit. His glasses caught the dimmed light from the setting sun through one window as he strode over to her, taking her hand and leading her quickly to the middle of the room.

"Senpai, what's going on?" She asked, mildly annoyed that he didn't seem to be giving her a choice, plus he was holding her wrist kind of hard.

He fished into his coat's inner pocket, producing a tiny remote, and setting the room's music to _waltz_. "You're dancing is still deplorable. You will probably be expected to dance at least once tonight, so I am preparing you for that." He took her hand and put his other against the small of her back gingerly.

She tensed. "Can't I... just not?" Her words were weighed and heavy with meaning.

Pulling her with him as he began to do the box step, he snorted softly. "You could have asked me sooner; had you done that, I could have easily freed you from this obligation." Shrugging he went on, "But now you are stuck with it as your responsibility."

"Eh?" _He could have gotten me out of this and he didn't?_

Dancing was actually quite a bit simpler when Senpai was leading. Even he noticed her improvement. "Hm," he mused, raising his arm to send her out for a spin, "you may have more talented than I gave you credit for."

Haruhi's mind paused, working over what he had just said with all the finesse of an elephant browsing a china shop, and didn't notice his hand's gentle tightening; the general cue on which she would turn back into him.

As it was, eyes fixed on her master's, (something unexpectedly pleasant), she tripped on the way back in, falling into his chest. _Oh nonono...!_ She was panicking a bit, frozen with her head on his vest, almost too afraid to look up.

A gentle rumble began then, causing her to peek up at his face, a tad stunned that she had just not only messed up the dance, but probably knocked some of the wind out of him and was, in essence, throwing herself at him. So it was startling to see him just chuckling quietly.

He stopped the dance, letting go of her hand and hugging her softly. "Haruhi, you are..." She could feel him press his face into her hair, one hand's fingers rubbing tiny circles on her neck, "a novel lady."

Haruhi's eyes were wide, unwilling to budge in this (compromising!)situation. Without realizing it, Kyoya was ghosting over one of her most tender areas, and it was all she could do not to melt into his arms. _Senpai!_

He let go, looking down at her. "Alright, when you dance tonight, try to stay with your regular guests. They will be able to lead you enough for your...simplistic skills to be enough."

She didn't respond, just watching his face quietly.

The gaze was broken when his phone buzzed.

"Don't be late."

* * *

><p>AN: Thank you all so much for the positive feedback~! As a disclaimer, I do not think that "queer" is a nice word, but the person that said it on the phone is not a nice person. So there. Don't yell at me for that. XD

Review replies!

Reader028: You, my dear reader, are a person after my own heart. ^^ I usually get stuck in fics and read and read until I'm caught up. xD Although for me, I'm really ridiculous and read late at night. LOL So thank you! I'm looking forward to hearing from you next!

Writerchic88 & ThePandaHat: My wish is your command! I shall write my proverbial butt off!

FishnetRose: Thank you so much! I was really excited when I noticed we'd passed one hundred~! And _don't_ feel guilty! I've only used exclamation points in your reply! ^_~ I look forward to your reviews, thank you for sticking around!

hunnylover: Mmm yes, plotty plot-plot, yes? ^^ Ehe yeah, Kyoya will definitely have something to say about these bad guys!

nyrac6275 & Alana: Thank you so much!

SFletch: Thank you! I will try to update quickly for you. =)

Kouga's_older_woman: I laughed out loud when I read your review. We should start FanFiction Anonymous together!

I can't wait to hear from you guys on this chapter! Lots to talk about. ^^

Hannah!


	13. Shoes

"Well, aren't you a cutie pie?"

Pulling himself out of his stock-room thoughts, Ryoji Fujioka turned. "Hm?"

It was a nicely-dressed lady, pleasant (though not extraordinary) features, and a smile that was creeping him out a bit. _I wish my hair was that color, though!_

She pulled on one of the red locks, twirling it as she leaned closer, propping her elbows on the counter between them. "See, I've noticed you around. And you've noticed me too, haven't you?"

Thinking back, Ryoji couldn't recall that he had. Actually, it had only been recently that he found out that he could notice a lady like_ that_ at all. _Such a wonderful exception, though._ He smiled dreamily, Kotoko's face floating through his thoughts.

"No, I don't think I have." He said, realizing that the lady was still standing there, watching him. He turned to continue his stocking.

She glowered. _Why won't he notice me? I dumped Travis because I thought I could make this work with him!_ "Hey!" Reaching over, she grabbed his arm, jerking him around. "I was still talking to you! Don't people on this side of town have any manners?"

He was_ tired_. He had been working for almost thirteen hours straight now, having come in at 5 a.m. to meet the delivery truck. He was_ not_ in the mood for this crap. Shaking his arm away, he told her, "Look, I'm not in the mood. Maybe if you had less... boobs, and more... man I could muster up a bit of a flirt, but I just want to finish this inventory and go home."

Her name was Janet. Born and bred in the good old U.S., dragged to Japan by said ex-boyfriend, and she was getting bored. She had enrolled in the law school for the laughs, not meaning to take it any farther than brain work and practicing her Japanese.

But her boyfriend was always _busy_. Whenever she wanted to do something, he had some excuse on why he couldn't. So when she had first seen Ryoji, she was willing to dump Travis and move _on._

Still, she let go, stung that the man she had intricately built plans with, (in her head), had been able to say _anything_ except, "Marry me tomorrow?"

Sniffing, she turned up her nose. "Fine. I'll be back later."

* * *

><p>"Hey, Kyoya!"<p>

The headache medicine had worked wonders, leaving a very happy Kyoya in it's wake. (That, and the income they were generating tonight) He turned, raising an eyebrow at his friend. "You seem to be ready for the dance, Tamaki."

Having run all the way down the hall to catch his friend, the Frenchman paused for air. Smiling up at Kyoya, he said, "Of course! As long as the guests are happy, I can be happy too!"

Tamaki was an anomaly to him. _He really doesn't care for his own happiness tonight, does he?_ He questioned silently, _How can he be so selfless towards others?_

Voicing part of his thoughts, Kyoya asked, "You really do love those ladies, don't you Tamaki?"

The care-free smile was replaced by a more thoughtful expression. "Well, I don't know how you would say it in Japanese, but to one of the ladies I would say, 'Je vous aime.'"

Kyoya had taken basic French in his free time when he and Tamaki had first met, trying to understand him. _I love you...? But casual?_

"To you, I would say, 'Tu es mon ami!' because you're my best friend." He smiled, his hair falling lightly around his face with his animated speaking.

_You are my friend? Intimate friend?_

"But I wouldn't tell the guests that, or tell you 'Je vous aime.' I love you both, but in different ways."

_He really is a puzzle, isn't he? _Kyoya vaguely smiled, drawing a connection between one clueless and another. _How she is so clueless after so much..._ _I suppose that is another reason that I'm not sure if I want them together for lengths of time. _

He cleared his throat. "In any case, we should go prepare for our guests; they are arriving soon."

Tamaki lit up. "The guests! They will be here soon, won't they? I'll go check on everyone!"

Kyoya slipped away easily, adding up numbers in his mind, almost positive that they would be making approximately a 40% profit tonight. _Not bad_, he smiled, jotting numbers down in his ledger, (next to the swim suit drawing Kaoru had doodled; he'd taped it to the inside) _this may actually end up being worth it anyway. _

Rubbing his temples, he stopped in front of the (make-shift) changing room's door. _I may have to do something about _that_. _He thought, noticing, again, Tamaki hassling Haruhi to wear some stupid pink bow. _He may not know it yet, my delightful, utterly confusing idiot, but he seems to like Haruhi. _Haruhi pushed Tamaki's hand away, erupting the twins in stitches of laughter and sending the ignored one into the corner, glowing black.

Removing his glasses to rub at his eyes, Kyoya sighed. _I almost wish I had kept her to myself for a while; she has adjusted astonishingly well. _

After reading the case studies, the Ootori boy had concluded that his charge was due for a mental breakdown of some sort. _What sets it off will be the most interesting facet for my notes. _He thought, replacing the spectacles.

He didn't admit how worried he was for her. There was fear fogging through all of his thoughts concerning her, and though he didn't want to think about it, he couldn't think of her captors without certain high degrees of anger. Though, when he found them, _There's going to be quite a fine. _He thought, straightening his suit coat, and clearing his head. _Tonight will be fine, however. Tamaki's plan is all in place, the party is ready for our presence, and the love letter is in the correct hands. _

He entered the room. "Everyone! We have four minutes!"

* * *

><p>"As always ladies, the host club members are here for your entertainment,"<p>

_They look like they want to eat me. _

"so we invite you to dance to your heart's content."

_Why did I agree to this?_

"Based on her dancing skills, one lucky lady will be chosen as tonight's queen. The queen's reward will be a passionate kiss on the cheek from our king, Tamaki."

Haruhi sneaked a glance at Senpai. _How can he be so calm? And why is he smiling like that? I feel like I might throw up..._

"Good luck to you," the king said, reaching his hand out to the crowd, "my darlings."

_Oh give me a break! _Haruhi couldn't keep it together. Now she was feeling barfy because her dancing lobe wasn't responding in _any_ way at all, AND because Tamaki was totally full of B-U-L-L.

She hunched in herself, trying to look happy through her grim mood. _Maybe if Senpai thinks I'm on __my period, he'll let me go home! _He didn't know her level of PMS yet, anyway. Who knows? He might believe that she got terribly ill every month!

The twins came up on each side of her. "Haruhi," they said, "You need to be happier for the guests. Why so gloomy?"

"I don't like big groups of people like this," she answered honestly. "Besides, I've never been to any party bigger than a park festival."

Kyoya spoke up without looking up from his work. "I hardly think those classify as 'parties.'" He knew how grumpy she'd been in the most recent hours, and tired. _Speaking of being grumpy and tired, I wonder when Aunt Flow comes to visit her? I'll have to begin tracking that to avoid any menstrual-cycle induced emotional breakdowns. _He sighed quietly. "Well, you're already here, so you might as well go ahead and get yourself something to eat." _What did she eat yet today? _He flipped through his notes. _What were her favorite foods? _"We've got quite a spread."

Haruhi perked up. _Food. _Primal instincts won out over annoyance at the party itself, and her feeble attempts to fake her way into PMS-evoked night of relaxation, (or at least quiet homework). "Spread? You mean like... fancy tuna?"

_She's never tried it...! _His pen broke between the surprise in his fingers. _Where is the caterer's number? _

"Get some fancy tuna here, right now!" Tamaki had cried, his descent from the balcony mysteriously fast.

_I wonder if she's tried- _"Add some deluxe sushi with that." He growled at the caterer, making a mental note to take her to an upscale buffet. _That will show me in the shortest amount of time what she likes. _

Even though she looked a bit... annoyed, she seemed to be something else as well. He noted the sweat beads on her forehead. _Apprehension at the dance? _He wondered, _Or maybe she really is ill, and I shouldn't let her eat at home anymore. I hadn't gotten to do the evaluation of her favorite market before she went shopping. _Suddenly he realized how distracted they all were. He clapped his hands. "Alright everyone; we have quite a few lovely ladies waiting for our attention."

Tamaki jumped in, his focus back, (irritatingly right in the middle of what _Kyoya _had been saying), chirping, "He is right, men! Let's go and show those ladies the best night of their lives!"

He watched the twins escort Haruhi down the stairs, repressing some feeling he tried to ignore._ I suppose it's time for me to show my skills as well. _He sighed, his phone buzzing softly.

Plucking it from his pocket, his eyes widened. "_Found lead. Detailed report waiting."_

Kyoya smiled, replacing the device and descending the staircase. _Promising, _he thought, tapping a brown-haired guest on the shoulder. "May I have this dance, my lady?"

Her wide brown eyes widened in delight. "Of course, Ootori-san."

He glanced across the dance hall, looking out over the other dancers. _Perhaps this evening will be more interesting then I thought. _His eyes took in her awkward bow, crinkling slightly._ She seems... _

Haruhi was laughing at something her partner said.

_Happy._

* * *

><p>Kyoya noted that there was a subset of ladies that seemed to have a host dance partner every dance. <em>Miss Morimoto, Miss Takei, Miss Honda, and Miss Yuki all seem to be popular tonight. They are outwardly very similar; Miss Honda's hair is shorter than her shoulders, while Miss Morimoto's hair is shorter than her jawline. <em>

He jotted down a note_, _the realization startling him only slightly. _They all have short brown hair and huge brown eyes. Excepting Miss Takei, who is 159 centimeters, the other three are all between 156 and 157 centimeters. _

It was almost laughable. The whole host club, whether consciously or not, were dancing with the closest proximity of Haruhi.

He slipped away from the party, finding his bodyguards in the nearest hall. "Is everything in place for this little confrontation?" He asked, folding his arms.

One looked to the other, who spoke up. "Master Kyoya," he said hesitantly, "About the investigation, we-"

"-I will be going over everything you've found with detail _after _the dance tonight." He looked pointedly at each of them. "Now, must I repeat my question?"

The second shook his head slightly, then said, "N-no, sir. Everything is going smoothly. He's waiting for her in the room right now."

Kyoya nodded curtly. "I'm sure the two of you will have everything under control. She will be along shortly."

He turned on his heel, hearing something along the lines of _Yes sir, Ootori-san, sir. _Re-entering the dance hall, he found an un-occupied Mori leaning against a pillar, watching Huni swinging around his partner gleefully. "Mori-Senpai, would you and Huni-Senpai mind collecting Haruhi for me? I have all the things we need waiting in the back of the Music Room."

Mori nodded, a slight, "Hm," escaping before Kyoya left again.

* * *

><p>It took about three minutes and five seconds, (23 seconds more than Kyoya had allotted for), for the twins to arrive and Mori and Huni to enter with a backwards Haruhi. Kyoya tried not to picture her in that similar position; the first day they met, when she was considerably less clad.<p>

Haruhi had struggled down, (not aiding Kyoya's mental predicament), and now needed to get changed within the next 7 minutes and 42 seconds. _The twins on makeup will take up most of that too, so she needs to hurry. _

There was no pretending that Kyoya was excited about seeing her dressed as a girl, just as much as everyone else. He had had almost as much fun picking out the outfit as Kaoru had. _The wig ended being the most difficult decision in the whole process; contrary to my assumptions. _"Senpai?"

The others looked to him as he adjusted his glasses and set his ledger down. "Do you need help, Haruhi?"

Hikaru and Kaoru giggled a bit. "She sounds like she needs your _heeelp_, Kyoya-Senpai."

A sigh sounded from behind the curtain. "Yeah."

Clearing his throat and tapping on his ledger, (the twins immediately retreated), he slipped into the changing room.

Haruhi turned, holding out the wig cap like a child. "I can't do this."

Taking the nylon and circling her to sweep her hair to the back, he chuckled softly. "Hard to believe someone in... your line of work hasn't worn a wig before, Haruhi."

The reaction in her body was swift, every muscle tightening like a gunshot. "...Well, I... Please don't go there."

Maybe it was the close proximity with the promise of never pleasing his father with a choice like this, or how she was absolutely _adorable_ even now, (especially now?) that she was rattled with his words. Whatever was driving him had firmly taken hold, the fleeting question shooting through his subconscious, _Why is she so strong? a_nd maybe even, _How far would I have to go to break her down?_

It all made him press her, though, leaning closer, letting his fingers run up to massage her temples gently, "Why not? I do _own _you, don't I?"

She paused, her body still stiff, before she turned and pressed her mouth to his forcefully, suddenly.

_She is kissing me,_ Kyoya thought, his mind melting at the soft ministrations of her delicate lips. _She's kissing me! _He realized with a flash and pushed her, trying to remove her and her _Mm, so soft lips..._

With every muscle in his body screaming at him to follow her to the floor, (_The floor? Did I push her that hard?_), disregarding the four others right outside the curtain, he straightened his jacket.

"Everything... okay in there?"

Hikaru had called in, obviously having heard some kind of thump. Haruhi, still wide eyed, (and now _very _confused), swallowed and called back, "Yep! Just dropped the wig stand."

Kyoya pulled her to her feet, noting her lack of shoes. Placing his hands on her shoulders, and feeling the extreme tightness of her nervousness, he maneuvered her around to a nearby chair and hissed, "What did you do that for?"

She let herself plop down, looking very helpless and bewildered, "I-I..." she gulped, closing her eyes for composure. When she felt she had ample, she said, "I assumed that that is what you expected after reminding me of your ownership."

Pulling the heels they'd chosen from the box, he took one of her feet, lifting it gently, sliding the shoe on slowly as he said, "Make no mistake that I would _always _enjoy being kissed by you, I simply _can't_; furthermore, my ownership of you is concrete and absolute, unless you suddenly come upon enormous amounts of assets with which to repay me, so our relationship _is _going to be something of a permanent fixture in your life."

He looked up at her, smiling gently at her unconscious blush, "But please," he was rash, reckless, leaning down to touch his lips to her foot before he set it down, "your obligation is unnecessary. If I had wanted a kiss, I would have initiated it myself;" the other foot done as well, he got up, helping her up with him, "But kissing you is inconsistent with my life. Are you ready for makeup?"

"Master-"

"Hikaru, Kaoru!" He called, checking his watch, "You have two and a half minutes!"

Haruhi watched him stride out of the dressing room, wiggling her feet in her new shoes, in slight shock. _He wants to... but he can't...?_

* * *

><p>Tamaki barreled down the hallway, shooting toward the Music Room. <em>I can't believe they all have been gone so long! I wonder if Haruhi is dressed-<em> he pushed open the door, "Aren't you guys ready yet?"

She was splendid. Magnificent. Magnifique! Miraculeux! Merveilleuse! "... You look... ready, Haruhi." He said, coloring profusely. She toddled around in the shoes, obviously not used to anything but flats, (Tamaki's assumption; her feet were actually still healing from their blisters in the shiny stilettos).

"Let's just go. Point me in the right direction so I can get this over with." She turned to face the club. "Well? Who's coming with me?"

Tamaki jumped, having been staring at her from the moment the doors had opened. "Yes! Yes of course! I _must _help a lady in need, mustn't I?"

She rolled her eyes, throwing a fleeting glance back before she took his arm. "A lady, huh?"

* * *

><p>AN: HELLO! I would give you all a long excuse list about changing jobs, and interviews, and sickness, and computer failure, and car troubles, but you all don't care! 8D So instead, I wrote you a nice long chapter with oooey-gooey lovey shmuts in it. Yes? Likey?

So. I had someone in the reviews voice a concern that the parts following the anime were, paraphrased, dry and more or less boring. They were also concerned about the filler chapters. (Which, if I remember correctly, I only have one proper filler, but... whatever XD)

Has anyone else felt these same concerns? As for copying the anime, I am. That's part of what I wanted to do with this story; bring the anime to life in an entirely new way so that, next time you go to watch Ouran, you can't help but think, _I know what Kyoya's thinking there!_ My objective is to bring you the same story, but with a different flavor.

I can promise that I won't have to follow the anime so closely for much else, (at least in the forseeable future), so do not fear!

As always, I can't wait to hear what you guys have to say! The review button (winkwink, nudgenudge) is not far, either~!

Love and cuddles,

Hannah

Ps. Does anybody here Tumblr?


	14. Duties

**WARNING**: I do feel like this chapter needs a warning. So! Mention of adult activites and private parts, in addition to dark/adult themes and roundabout mentions of rape. Happy reading and merry Christmas! (Enjoy my present to you; a 10-pager!)

* * *

><p>Ranka dropped into bed, his purse still looped over his shoulder, and groaned into the pillow. Fleetingly, he worried where his daughter was, then remembered he knew <em>exactly <em>where she was, (thanks to that lovely boy's careful planning and regular updates to her wellbeing/where-a-bouts).

Turning to face the wall, (and not having changed from his work clothes), he scratched his face and wondered where life went wrong.

"_What is that, anyway?" _

"_It's a lawsuit." _

He sighed and pulled the necklace over his head, tossing it to the floor haphazardly. _I let them take my wife. My wife and my baby, and never stopped them. _He knew in his heart that there hadn't been much he could have done, but they _took_ the people he loved.

_I'm a horrible father._ Ranka tapped a toe lazily, trying to reconcile his memories with what he knew as fact. Why had she gone after him? Of course the whole situation that they ended up in court over hadn't been his fault in the slightest, given that Kotoko was right around the corner and he had been absolutely _yearning_ for her presence in their stints of time apart. Even more so then ever, that day, he remembered. As they both worked diligently, they rarely had time to spend with one another and the time that they did have was _precious_. Even now, he would trade a whole month of peace now for that one horrible night, just for the few minutes that they'd had together before anything had happened.

Still, his depression had lifted considerably when that wonderful Ootori boy had stepped in. Even now at a loss for what Kyoya's motives with his daughter were, Ranka was very pleased that she was safe at home.

_She still limped so much when she first came. I wish she had more time to spend resting. _He tapped his finger along the bedspread. _Maybe I'll ask Kyoya-chan about that next time he calls. _

_But I know now not to be so stupid to think that anyone, even someone who had been so kind up until now, would be completely without an ulterior motive. _In all honesty, he very much believed, to it's truth or not, that the Ootori boy would be pulling off the mask soon and Haruhi would be stolen away again.

Gritting his teeth at the thought, Ranka frowned in decision. _No, _he thought, _not again._

* * *

><p>For some reason, Haruhi could feel something scratchy on her cheek. <em>Maybe... it's a scarf. <em>She reasoned, her thoughts coming slow, which made it increasingly hard to put the delayed words into a coherent sentence.

_Somebody's calling me. _Her eyes were closed, her breathing odd and uneven. _It sounds like a boy... Oh crap. _With thoughts so inconsistent, she couldn't form what the sense of dread was glowing from, but it was stronger as the person-_the boy_- came closer.

Her training, complements of her first captor, was coming back in waves. Somehow it was easier to remember that than it was to focus on the what the voice was saying, or even open her eyes to take this scratchy _scarf?_ off. Although, she'd noticed, it was only itching her on one side.

"_When you are a slave, you have no rights."_

_Why did they take me again?_

"_You should never EVER struggle when someone is with you. They paid good money for the use of you."_

She felt a gentle hand close over her shoulder and the world flipped around slowly, making her stomach do flip-flops. She moaned softly and wondered where her scratchy scarf went before she finally picked up on what someone was saying to her.

"It's okay, Haruhi."

_That's not Senpai's voice... is it? _She was still too confused to pick out one voice from another.

"Kyoya can help. He'll be here soon."

Finally she let her eyes slit open, seeing quite a bit more blonde than she was used to seeing. "...Suoh-san?"

They'd been on their way to her meeting with Suzushima when she'd began to feel light-headed. Now that she was awake enough to look around, she blearily looked up at Suoh-san. Obviously worried, Tamaki's face lit up all at once, brushing a hair out of her eyes and happily gushing, "You're alright! Oh good!" He took her hand and squeezed it gently. "I was worried you had hit your head for a minute there!"

Even with his exuberant and cheerful declarations, Haruhi could still see how much worry he had just experienced. She looked around, not comfortable in the slightest being held by Tamaki, and tried to sit up. _Ah-ha_, she realized, _I fell on carpet. That's what I was feeling. But why...?_

Haruhi's mind was extremely keen, filled with raw potential years of neglect had pushed aside, (but not forgotten). Time, however, had taken it's toll, even with the new burst of learning she'd enjoyed back in school, making thinking more than needed difficult, which led her to let her thoughts disband in mid-sentence.

Actually one of the easiest ways to cope in horrific situations is to just not think. Haruhi had learned that the hard way. (Although right now hadn't escalated quite to 'horrific' just yet)

The situation at hand required a bit more than thought though, and Haruhi was determined to pull out of the boy's arms. _He is not my master_, she reasoned, trying again to sit up, _And Master never gave me any orders to obey Suoh._

She was shaky to the Nth degree, resulting in a very upset and panicky Tamaki. "No, Haruhi!" He cried, trying gently (he didn't know what was wrong, and was valiantly trying to save her from further pain) to pull her back into his arms. _Where she can rest! Who knows why she fell!_ Truth be told, he had been terrified for her, in proper panic during her few seconds out. _Where is Kyoya! _"Please just stay still? Kyoya will help. He'll be here soon."

The dizziness was overtaking her anyway, so she stopped. _He said... please? But... _

_But..._

"_There is no reason why anyone should talk to you, unless ordering what do to!"_

"_You are available for the highest bidder, just like every other item to buy. Trying to act like the person you aren't will just result in punishment." _

So she stopped, let Suoh-san scoot closer to her and support her head against his chest, and wallowed in confusion.

_Why are you doing this? Hasn't Master told you what I am? _Her eyes were beginning to feel hot with tears as Tamaki began running his fingers down her hair soothingly, murmuring things that didn't mean anything in her ear.

_Master knows what I am. He's been trying to make me trust him, so that when he breaks me it will hurt more. This boy doesn't know any of that. So why? WHY? _

She had understood that, since the beginning. It had happened once before, that her owner was particularly nice to her in an effort to make breaking her all the more painful. His younger brother had been a tiny solace then, but the fresh pain of betrayal and hate had eaten at her mind more than any other mindless rape had. _But I'm ready for when he changes, _she thought, mentally steeling herself, _So what if he turns into every other owner I've had? It's to be expected. _

Except she was afraid it would break her father again, all at the same time. _He's clever. That's why he wanted me to live with Dad; it's the only reason that makes any sense. So when he _does _tear away his mask, it will hurt Dad and I at the same time, and he can get his sick little kicks from both of us. _

Kyoya finally rounded the corner, eyes growing wide at the little scene-_No, spectacle!_- that was there. He paused, adjusting his glasses to take in the tears on Haruhi's face, few as they were, and how his friend was holding her, touching her hair. _Although it _is_ a wig, so that's negotiable. _

Stepping to where they were, Kyoya climbed lightly to his knees, reaching to take Haruhi out of Tamaki's (harder only in Kyoya's imagination) grip. "What's wrong? Tell me where it hurts."

She looked up his chin with those big chocolate eyes, making it feel very much like the first time they'd met, (only this time the other person didn't want to take his Haruhi; or at least he _better_ not want to), and Haruhi didn't know Kyoya's house rules yet.

_Look at me! _He urged her silently, _Why were you crying? _

She finally shook her head slightly and murmured, "There's no pain. I'm fine."

He felt for her pulse, (which was normal), and checked her pupil dilation, all the while watching her eye movements and finally turning to his friend. "What happened, Tamaki?" He covered his anger professionally at the blonde boy for letting _anything_ happen.

His eyes snapped up to meet Kyoya's mouth in state of half-mobility. Bumbling to a start, Tamaki stammered, "I don't know! She was walking next to me, and suddenly she wasn't there!"

_She passed out. _

"I didn't know what to do, Kyoya!" His features were drawn out, eyes wide and Kyoya could detect a bit of quivering, too. "She wasn't moving! She... I..."

Finally, Kyoya softened. _He was genuinely concerned. Typical of him. You'll wear yourself out caring about everyone so deeply, my precious idiot. _(There was a nagging thought that he didn't want to acknowledge that his friend would _never_ do any of the things his mind was screaming about, but the current situation made it easy to ignore)

Smiling, Kyoya tilted his head and asked gently, "Tamaki, thank you for staying with her until I could get here. Would you mind going and getting some more comfortable shoes for Haruhi?"

Dislodging his foot from under Haruhi's leg slowly, Tamaki jumped up nervously. "Of course! Of course!" He twitched around for a second, like he was unsure of where to start. "I will bring her the most comfortable shoes I can buy!"

"I have some...my slippers are in the changing room."

Both of the boys looked down at her, Kyoya noting her eyes were averted respectfully.

Tamaki stared at her wide-eyed for a second. Then he jumped in action again, "Yes! I will find them and bring them here immediately!"

He rushed away, leaving Kyoya to ponder over Haruhi with keen stares. "Alright," he asked, "Tell me exactly what happened. What did he do to you?"

She snapped up, a glare forming then disbanding just as quickly on her features. "I... Master, he wouldn't ever do anything like that."

Ignoring the fact that he could have taken that 'Master' as a slap to the face, Kyoya tilted her head forward to take off the wig and check her hairline for bumps. "Everyone else would."

Haruhi tensed under his fingers. "He wouldn't."

He lifted her face and and looked at her blandly. "How do you _know_?"

She still avoided looking into his eyes, even with her face turned up so far. "Well... he said 'please.'"

_She's impossible! _

_How can she be so naïve?_

What_ is her _problem?

"Were you feeling dizzy?"

She'd been expecting something different, obviously, with the slight twitch of her head as she stammered, "Yes..."

Her default thought process was wondering if he wanted her to say no so that he could sneak her off to take her, or if he'd wanted her to say yes for the same reason, only with more pain inflicted to her. _But this game he's been playing hasn't broken off it's mask yet, so I doubt if he'll be shooting for that right now, when Suoh-san should be back any minute. _

He was about to say something when she suddenly spoke up again, "Actually, I'm still quite dizzy. To be perfectly honest... Senpai, it felt like I was dehydrated or hadn't eaten or something."

Kyoya snorted, letting the tenseness of the last moments wear off a bit. "Well, you have been eating, so that's out of the question."

Haruhi looked up at him quickly. "I-um," she frowned, "eating?"

"Yes, eating," he retorted shortly, slipping his hand beneath her knees and around her back. "A concept near and dear to many."

Haruhi frowned. It wasn't that she didn't like eating, she did! Plus she really loved cooking, especially now that she was home, but in the past the rules about eating had been... strict. "No, Senpai. I-um... only eat when absolutely necessary."

He scooped her up, brow knit together in aggravation and almost growled, "And why is that? If you are expected to preform well in school, you should be fueling your mind accordingly."

Her eyes were wide as he carried her easily to a nearby room. "Oh... I- I didn't know that."

"What purpose could feeding yourself only on a need-be basis have?" He set her down on a couch.

She clasped and unclasped her hands almost unnoticeably. "In the past... it was more, um, well-received when I was weak and docile."

He had let her go a moment ago, but Kyoya had the fierce urge to pick her back up and hug her. At the same time, he couldn't imagine seeing any of these _previous_ people and not pummeling them senseless for laying even one _finger_ on on his... well, on Haruhi.

"Well," Kyoya began, straightening his coat and adjusting his glasses, "That won't be necessary anymore, will it? I would like you to start eating at least three times a day. If you do not do so, we may need to revert to you keeping a calorie log book so I can monitor even more closely until you won't be in danger of having another episode like this."

_She's staring at me_. He almost snorted. _At least she's gotten over whatever it was that made her feel distant earlier. _

Finally, she nodded, asking quietly, "So do I have to go talk to that boy now?"

_That reminds me..._ He looked around, before realizing the wig was in his hand. Settling down on his knees in front of the couch, he replaced the tousled hair, brushing a strand from her eye. "Do you mind?"

At first Haruhi was even more confused that her _master_ getting on his knees before her, much less than the fact that he seemed to be asking _permission _to do, well, anything. Then she realized he was talking about talking to Suzushima, and nodded numbly. "I can do it."

Tamaki's voice echoed through the hallway. "Haruhi? Kyoya? I have the slippers!"

* * *

><p>Janet Middleson was <em>not <em>happy. She'd be rejected by her future fiance, (once he figured out that he was inexplicably in love with her, that is), _twice_ now. TWICE!

And one of them had been mostly naked for her. She rolled her eyes. Whatever.

Being from Iowa, she was used to being able to talk her way into anything. Her high school was very rural and there were hardly any good rivals for her charisma there. She'd learned to dominate. Command and conquer! (As it were)

So she was used to having everything at her fingertips. What's wrong with that? So was William and Kate, and they weren't hated for it!

Lifting her binoculars, she confirmed sighting, writing down the time and date next to location in her book. Sitting back against the tree, she wondered what the next step was. _I could get Travis to hunt him down for me..._ she sighed. _Although Travis wouldn't prolly think twice about beating any other guy I liked to a pulp, which wouldn't be pretty. And I couldn't let him hurt Ryoji's pretty face._

Twirling her pen around lazily, Janet sighed louder. What was she supposed to do? Tie him to a bed? Nah, that was rape, and there was jail behind rape. (However good the act may have been... she shuddered at the thought of Ryoji inside of her wistfully)

The book was full of places and times and dates. Ever since the last rejection, she'd been... tracking Ryoji; keeping tabs on where he was and when. It was odd to say, since he didn't seem like the type, but Ryoji Fujioka was a surprisingly organized person. He seemed to work the same shift every day, week to week. When he would go home, he would eat and then drop into bed, waking at least eight hours later. (Don't ask how she found all that out; she still had scratches on her arm to prove it was all true!)

Scanning the log, she wondered what life would be like once they were happy together. _I'd do anything for him to be mine, _she thought, her core heating up just at the thought. _I suppose... I suppose __I'll just have to take more drastic measures._

* * *

><p>She'd fled the room. Once Suzushima was gone, she had excused herself to run to the bathroom as quickly as she could.<p>

_I don't know what's wrong with me tonight! I should be able to hold it together better than this! _

But currently, Haruhi was draped across a toilet, having just finished retching all her meals out, and was now shivering in the dress against the soft chill of the bathroom's floor.

It had been a very interesting conversation, at least for Haruhi. Besides her own parents, of which she'd rarely seen together in the situation she grew up with, Haruhi couldn't think of a time when she'd even heard of a boy just genuinely loving a girl for everything about her, and not just because the girl happened to have a vagina to stuff things up.

_But he talked about her like she was the moon and stars. Like if she wasn't happy, it would be as painful for him as losing an eye. He didn't even necessarily care if she was with him or not! Is this how love works when you don't have to buy a lay? Caring for someone so deeply that their body is... secondary. How is that possible?_ Her brain was whirring along, taking a pause so Haruhi could throw a bit more up in the porcelain before continuing on.

_If a boy likes a girl, then that means he wants to pleasure himself through her various orifices. But Suzushima...? _

Shakily, she got to her feet, knowing better than to keep everyone waiting. (The final ceremony was coming up, and all hosts needed to be present)

_So does that mean he's a good liar, or... or... I could be wrong? _

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she remembered how her mother would come home, tired and a bit rumbled from a long day, and her dad would _jump_ into action to make her comfortable. Their relationship wasn't about, '_pleasuring himself through her various orifices', _as Kotoko wouldn't take any crap, and Ryoji was too enamored to care to give any. But the last images of her mother weren't the happy times, and it was hard to believe that she'd hadn't just made their love up, instead of believing something she thought to be false, stupidly naïve like she was.

However, as she hurried to change her clothes, Haruhi didn't realize her misunderstanding. Her brain was functioning at top capacity, which was unfortunately slower than it could have been, trying to put the pieces together.

The night was growing old, however, and she didn't have time to come to any conclusions before she found herself, on stage, in her own clothes again. Closing her eyes, Haruhi appreciated the comfy bagginess of her attire and sighed happily.

_So Senpai wants me to eat, huh? _It really was kind of a shock to her that he would encourage, if not _demand _that she eat.

"_You like food, don't you,_ whore_?" The voice was fading in and out as she tried to stay alert. (Master didn't like it when she passed out) Food... The room swam in front of her. When was the last time she ate? _

_This had to be a trick question. But... she was so _hungry_. And she couldn't put out when she was passed out, right? So she nodded, keeping her head down, knees apart, and lips separated, just like he liked. _

_Suddenly he grabbed her throat, quivering in anger, "YOU are NOT human!" he screeched, throwing her to the floor. "There is no reason..." he said, pulsating with anger, while she was with fear, "that a _toy_ should need anything other than it's master's approval._

"_And you certainly don't have it right now." _

_She knew she was in for a beating. She shouldn't have said yes. That was the problem, she was horribly _stupid_. Why should he give her food? She was no better than a baby toy; try to find what went __into the right hole. And he was the baby, trying to fit the square block into the round hole. A toy, that's all she was. She wasn't even a 'she'. She was an 'it', like he reminded her every day. _

_As he pulled out the whip, ordering her to bend over the bed, she steeled herself against tears. __Somewhere, deep inside, maybe there was some of herself left over. But not somewhere she could find today. Not when he was constantly taking herself from her. Piece by piece. _

"_Cry, worthless! Scream like your life depended on it!" His face twisted into a grin as he threw down the whip, "Because it does." _

_She heard a zip. _

Shaking the memory off, Haruhi tried to orient herself again. _I'm not there anymore. I'm not with him now, and I don't have to worry... (for now)_

Suddenly, she felt hands on each of her shoulders and she looked up frantically, before realizing it was just Hikaru (on the left) and Kaoru, (on the right). "Hey!" She protested, "What do you think you're doing?"

Kaoru grinned his little Cheshire smile. "Weren't you paying attention, Haruhi?"

Hikaru chimed in, not wanting to feel left out. "Yeah! This is the final surprise of the night! You're going to kiss Suzushima's girl instead of the Boss."

"...I have to kiss her?"

"Yep!" Hikaru snorted, scoffing at her expression. "It's just on the cheek; don't be such a baby!"

She glowered, trying to catch Master's attention. "This is going to far." _Doesn't he realize what I've done? _She felt a bit sick to her stomach. _Not even masters kiss slaves. _

"I'll cut your debt by a third." Kyoya said, not even looking up from his writing. _What does he write anyway?_ Haruhi wondered fleetingly, before his statement registered.

_I suppose it's alright with him, then. _"Fine. I guess it _is _just the cheek." _So I won't taint her too much. _

Kyoya put away his ledger for the moment, having drawn a very nice rabbit in it, to watch. _As far as I know, most people prohibit slaves to kiss anyone on the lips, and do not kiss their lips themselves. The taboo being involved in a kiss happening either way, but seems especially potent if the slave initiates the kiss. _He crossed his arms as Huni popped up, voicing his next thought,

"Hey, you don't think this will be Haru-chan's first kiss, do you?"

Kyoya raised an eyebrow. It _was _an interesting thought, that the girl who'd been bedded probably every night and day for a few _years_ might not have been properly kissed yet. _Although this one will only be on the cheek, so I suppose her first 'real' kiss will still be available. _

Suddenly he noticed Tamaki nearby, looking quite confused, and breathing like he was in desperation. _What is he...?_

"First... kiss?" Tamaki murmured, before springing into action. Kyoya watched, the world seeming like it went a bit slower as his friend called, "Hold that kiss!"

_The trajectory he was aiming for is impossible to hit because of... yes, because of the banana peel left out. _As he'd expected, Tamaki had had one ill-placed foot, which catapulted him straight into Haruhi's back, pushing her straight into the lady's lips.

_That...blundering... IDIOT_. Kyoya smiled, hiding his quivering anger only thinly, and tried not to choke his friend. _I'll kill him. _

He let the guests calm down from their fangirling high before calling a 'thank you' to everyone in attendance, and people began to disperse slowly. Haruhi hadn't moved. Tamaki was lamenting to himself in the corner. Calmly, Kyoya called down, "Haruhi?"

She turned her head slightly, and he saw something drip off of her chin.

Now alert, Kyoya dusted himself off and marched down the stairs. "Everyone, it's time to begin cleaning up before our wrap up meeting." Closer to Haruhi, he noticed something else dripped onto the ground. "... Which we will have tomorrow, actually. I'd like to tally our profit before we discuss it, so I will see you all tomorrow. Come along, Haruhi."

Huni and Mori shared a look as Kyoya took her hand, leading her away quickly. Tamaki looked up from his pouting, murmuring a little, "Kyoya?"

_They're all watching us leave_, Kyoya knew that. He waited until they were out of eye-shot before he picked her up and curtly questioned, "When are you expected to get your period, Haruhi?"

She looked up, confused through her tears. "I, uh, I ...don't know, Master."

Scoffing, he let them into the deserted girl's bathroom. "Of course you do. It's not that difficult to tell when thirty days has passed."

Suddenly he heard a hiccup-sob and looked down at her quickly. "I think-" he set her down on the low counter, kneeling down to inspect her. She took a gasping breath, trying to regain her composure.

Kyoya shook his head, running his fingers over her hand. "Take your time. Don't rush yourself."

_Don't rush? _ She thought, her breathing coming more quickly, _Senpai, stop toying with me! _The kind words that he'd meant to be helpful were just making her cry more, and it took a good minute of sobbing before she could squeeze anything else out.

He watched, running circles on her palms, attempting to allow her all the time she needed. _The meeting can wait, _he reasoned, although he knew that it was one he _wouldn't _be missing for anything. _This, however, comes before that. I am looking out for her well-being, after all. _

The thought surprised him, in a way. He'd known from the beginning that he was now her care-taker, in almost every aspect, and had accepted that responsibility, no matter how baffling it was, even to him as to _why_ he had taken it on in the midst of everything else. _I look after Haruhi's well-being._ He thought, simply to reiterate his conclusion. _And I don't even know why_.

For Haruhi, it was much more complicated. This was a person, with a penis, who didn't want her to keep her underwear off for 'speed of service.' He had bought her clothing, and hadn't done more than tease her a little bit sexually. He was even worried about whether or not she was eating!

"_Hello? Are you awake?" _

_Fourteen-year-old Haruhi blearily sprung up, trying to stand. When she realized it wasn't Master, she was halfway up, and didn't know whether to sit back down or finish standing. Through her aching body and general film of filth she was covered in, she wasn't thinking so clearly and ended up falling back to the floor, trying desperately not to cry out when she landed on her (particularly) sore behind. She managed to only groan softly as the boy rushed in, setting down his tray hurriedly. _

"_Don't move, Haruhi." He helped her sit up against the wall, gently laying her back against it for support. "I can't believe..." He shook it off. "I brought you some soup." _

_She looked from him to the soup helplessly. Considering that Master didn't like it when she ate, and she'd just been fed yesterday morning, she wasn't sure if she should accept the offering. But... she was _so _hungry. _

_The boy set his jaw. "You need to eat, Haruhi. I don't care what he says, you need food. You'll waste away to nothing if he keeps doing this; Eat." _

_Technically, she knew, he wasn't her master. Although, even more technically, he was _related_ to Master, so that might null the previous rule. It wasn't until he was holding the broth up to her lips before she broke down and greedily sucked it up. _

_Worn out and underused, she tried to croak a little, 'thank you', but her voice was so hidden and rarely brought out that all that came out was a tiny squeak. _

_Somehow, he still knew and his worry-lined face relaxed a bit. "You're welcome. I'm sorry I can't... Someday you'll get out of this, I know it." He brought a new spoonful to her lips. "And you'll be really happy and will never have to even look at guys like him." _

_Even though she didn't understand why he was so nice to her, Haruhi tried to smile, but her mouth was cracked and dry, so she ended up just making the soup dribble out the side a little, making an already embarrassing situation even worse. _

_But patiently, he dabbed it up and smiled back, sitting with her until all the soup was gone, then giving her water. The whole time, he talked of nothing, telling her about his gym class gone wrong, and the good grades he'd been getting. He talked about the weather and what seasons he liked and didn't like, and asked her basic questions she could nod to if she agreed. _

_After his brother's cruelty, Haruhi craved the attention he gave. Not only gave, but lavished on her whenever he could escape his brother's notice. _

"_Well, it's all gone." He said, smiling and gathering up his things. "I'll come and check on you later, if I can." _

_Haruhi swallowed quickly, trying to talk as he walked to the door. "Th-tha...nk you. Thank you, Arai-sama."_

_Arai looked back, surprised, then smiled again sadly. "...Take care, Haruhi." _

Either way, according to her training, she was answer anytime there was a direct question from her owner, which _was_ Senpai in this case. Although, he didn't _particularly_ ask anything, although, she knew he did _want _an answer, although, her mind wasn't firing at all cylinders like what always happened when she started to think about that old place. She hiccuped, and held onto the counter more tightly.

"I think, Master, that I missed my period." She rubbed her arm over her eyes unhelpfully as a fresh batch welled up. Haruhi blinked them back savagely, trying desperately not to let them wet Senpai's hands even more.

Old Master would have been furious. He would have _demanded _to know which day she had skipped her pill and why. There wouldn't have been any kind of discussion as he would have gotten some 'pregnant action', then taken her to the clinic for a quick abortion.

This new one though, this one was just knelt there, hands absently straightening her suit jacket and shirt. She stared down at his head, still unbelieving that this nice-guy act could be anything more than just that, and willed him to respond.

Finally, he looked up and smiled dimly. "I suppose we'll have to check for a pregnancy then, won't we?" He cocked his head. "Are you worried about possibly have an abortion, Haruhi?"

_This guy can't be real_. She thought, staring confused back. _Has he ever even wanted me? _

"No, Master."

He angled her chin to look at him. "Why all the 'Master''s today? Remember, I told you you didn't have to call me that."

She wanted to point out that he had only specified what to call him in public, but didn't. Instead, she just shook her head and said, "I only wish to please you, Ootori-sama."

Kyoya frowned. _Why is she so formal suddenly? Is it the possibility of caring an old master's child? _He shook his head, trying not to think about how she could please him in _other_ ways. _So I suppose I _shouldn't_ be thinking of her mouth all over me, or her tongue making designs on my skin. Nope. I shouldn't even imagine how nice it would be to kiss her when no one else has had that privilege. Or waking up with her in my arms. Naked. Which means my arms might be brushing her breasts. Or even getting her a proper maid uniform, and playing master and slave... nope. Those are the things I won't be imagining. _Standing up, he adjusted his glasses and 'hmm'ed slightly.

Haruhi's eyes widened when he stood. _So he _can_ want me, apparently_. She wanted to roll her eyes, to show how she always could read men because they always acted the same, in essence. _He stood so I would be able to see it, _she thought, chewing on her lips a little as she began to defer to her training.

"_At the sign of an erection, you must immediately begin to remedy it for him. Do not hesitate. If they must make it more visible for you to notice it, you may be punished." _

He had stood from a position where she was incapable of seeing his hips to where it was almost on mouth level. She closed her eyes, knowing what she was in for, and bowed her head as she bent forward.

Kyoya was about to take out his cell phone when she made the first move. Blood rushing to his face, (and other parts), as she put her hands on his hips for balance and leaned close enough for him to _feel _her breath on his zipper. He'd known, before, that he was beginning to get hard, but this was unacceptably difficult. (Especially since one day dream he'd had multiple times now was one where Haruhi undressed him with her mouth...)

"Haruhi," he snapped, "What are you doing?"

She took the zipper pull by the very edge of her teeth, and slid it down slowly. When it was at the bottom, she closed her eyes and paused. "I am simply fulfilling your desires, Mast- I mean, Ootori-sama. You _do_ want this, don't you?"

Kyoya huffed, aggrevated. On one hand, _YES_, of course he wanted this. He could only imagine her bedroom skills were probably far more advanced than his own, and even if they weren't, he could (technically) cause her to do anything he pleased.

On the other hand, of _COURSE _he couldn't agree to anything like this, even though he almost had a full-on boner by this point, and she was offering. In fact, it was precisely because she was offering that he couldn't accept. _Haruhi is a rape victim, _he though, trying to navigate his mind off of pounding into her right now, on the sink in the girl's room. _She is scarred and untrusting and needs anything BUT this. If she wants intimacy, with anyone, it needs to be on her terms and it needs to be making love, not stuffing things into her body repeatedly that she doesn't care for. Plus, she isn't acting normally. I'd bet-mmf!-anything that she's on autopilot._

She'd managed to get his pants down around his knees, and he was breathing fast as he choked out, "Haruhi. Please stop. I don't want you to do this."

Haruhi seemed to be looking from his face, (completely flushed by this point), to his boxer-clad member, which was extremely...perky by now. She frowned. "...Master?"

He was breathing funny. Of course, Kyoya had had erections before, but never one like this. This one could be taken care of someone who thought it was their _job_ to do it, and it would only take a few minutes and he would feel so good after and . But he knew he had to stop himself. Shaking off his pants, (that were already around his ankles), he walked as best he could to the handicapped stall and called, "I'll be right... back."

Haruhi sat up, wondering what was going on. Of course, after having it pounded into you that erections=instant reaction, she hadn't even thought of him perhaps taking care of it himself. _Maybe he's shy, _she thought, _maybe he's undressing himself the rest of the way before I finish it. I wonder if he expects me to undress myself. _She scoffed at her foolish thoughts. _Masters don't undress their property. I better hurry, though. _

She hopped off the counter, realizing she was shaking.

"_Haruhi, are you alright?" _

_Naked, on her knees, Haruhi was shaking. Not just shaking, convulsing to the beat of her dry-heaves. She considered nodding, as that's what he probably expected her to respond with, but she wasn't. She was so SO sick of this! _

_So she shook her head. Arai rushed over, throwing down the brown bag he'd been carrying and produced a washcloth out of his back pocket. "Haruhi..." He breathed, laying his hand gently on her shoulder, only to have her twitch away nervously. Shaking his head sadly, he began to clean off her face. "Do you mind?" He asked, clearly not wanting to cause her more discomfort. _

_A tear slipped from her eye and she fisted her hands tightly. "I spilled." She said. _

_Arai looked from her face to the floor, realizing what happened. _My idiot brother, _he thought hatefully, _How could he punish a wonderful girl like this? _He gently wiped her face, not able to see very well in the dim-lit room, but trying to clean up her important orifices so she wouldn't have trouble breathing or seeing. He dabbed gently around her eye, stopping when she mewled in hurt. _

_He squinted to take a closer look, gasping when he noticed the black eye. _

"_Haruhi..." he breathed, faltering on his next words. He couldn't tell her it wouldn't happen again, because his brother was a horrible person and it just might. He couldn't even tell her to rest until it healed, because he couldn't imagine any span of time that she wouldn't get _some _kind of visit in the night. (Or day, or morning, really) He couldn't even tell her that he could make it better, since sneaking in here at all was hard, and it would be really bad, (for both of them), if he ever got caught. _

"_Arai... sama?" She wasn't looking at him, as she never took that kind of initiative, but she was quivering, obviously nerves getting to her. _

"_Yes?" _

"_May I...may I hug you?" _

Looking back, it had almost been too awkward for it's own good at first, but in that moment Haruhi had been able to fall apart for a moment. She'd been covered in filth and gunk from...earlier, bruised and black-eyed, but he'd hugged her. He'd let her sob as long and hard as he could, rubbing her back tenderly. Thinking back, Arai-sama had been somehow able to be a bright spot in a situation that she could have never made it through without.

She unbuttoned her vest nimbly, neatly folding it and placing it on the counter. As she was working on the shirt, however, she heard something. _Was that a groan? _Logically, her mind was telling her that there was only one other person in the area, but... _That sounded like a pleasure groan. And Senpai's the only other one around. _

So she just stood there like an idiot, wondering who that was orgasming at a time like this, when she was about to...help her master out. Her fingers hadn't moved off of the third button down, and didn't until the stall door swung open again.

It was... Senpai. He was straightening his jacket and dusting off his pants. _His pants. _Haruhi's eyes widened. _It's...gone? _

Her mind was working through all this very slowly, so it took a moment for her to think, _That was him groaning? _She wiggled uncomfortably. _But it make me feel kind of... hot, though? _

Kyoya cleared his throat. "Haruhi?"

She snapped into action again, stuttering a guilty, "I'm so sorry, so sorry. I didn't mean..." Her weighed words slipping to the floor as she deftly undressed herself.

"Haruhi? Stop!"

She halted, her undershirt and pants around her ankles, still in the process of undoing her bra. Shyly looking up, she could see Senpai rushing, only to bend down and pick up her shirt. "Umm.." She was turning bright red, heat rushing to her face as he lifted the shirt around her back and stopped. _Is this some new game I don't know? _Suddenly, she thought of something; _What if he's a sadist? This could be some new torture game I've never done before! _

"What were you doing?" Even though he sounded confused, his voice was clipped like she'd expected. _What am I doing? What are _you_ doing, Senpai?_

She dared a glance at his face, trying not to seem too conspicuous, and noticed that... _He doesn't look upset. He doesn't look upset? _

Then Haruhi realized he'd asked a question, and it was nearly impossible for her _not_ to answer. Especially because it was Senpai, and no matter what he'd do in the future, he'd given her (body) some time to heal and she was grateful for that. (What came in the future would come then, and that's also when she'd deal with it)

"I-um-Senpai, I was..." she swallowed hard, "I...you didn't want a blow job?"

Crass as it was, that's honestly the only thing she could have ever squeezed out at that moment. She was looking at him now, brows pinched together in worry, hoping for one response, but fearing another. He _could _always be using this as an opportunity to punish her further once he admitted to wanting (and expecting!) what was due him from his property. She began shivering.

He blinked, but only placed the shirt around her shoulders before retorting, "I believe that something of that...magnitude in our confusing little shenanigans would have been discussed out before _either _of us would perform such a task, no? Besides, I'd much rather know what your womb's state of being is before we'd discuss anything of that proportion."

She took a turn blinking, rather in shock. _Confusing little shenanigans? My womb's state of being? EITHER of us?_

None of it made sense. She tried to suck in more air, but it wasn't helping get the flow of thoughts circulating again.

'Either' usually meant one person or the other person, in a given situation. Unfortunately, there was only Haruhi and Senpai in this one, and that couldn't possibly be right. It was be disgusting, revolting, horrifically dirty for anyone to touch her...there. It was bad enough to kiss her mouth... didn't he realize where it had been?

_What did he mean by the womb thing, too? _She wondered, automatically ruling out that genuine worry might be involved. _Maybe he thinks something of that nature...might damage his merchandise? It could mean I'd be out of commission for a while..._ Although Kyoya _had _yet to do anything to her, so logically, if he hadn't been so close and disrupting her thinking, it wouldn't matter if she was even bed-ridden for a few weeks.

Still, none of it made sense. Although to hear that he view their relationship as confusing as she did was comforting, in a way.

"Are you shaking?" Kyoya began running his hands up and down her arms, trying to sooth her like a child. "Hey, it's okay. Babies are a blessing no matter from where they've originated, yes?"

_He thinks I'm upset because of the period I missed. _She realized, _Actually, that means that he wants me to have it if I am pregnant?_

"Senpai, why don't you use me?"

Tears welled up in her eyes, as the question came blurted out. It was honest; she'd been with him for enough time for him to have had his way with her plenty of times. It was also something she'd been sloshing around in her mind ever since the first day. _When does he start treating me like I'm supposed to be treated?_

He cocked his head slightly, "Well, your intellect isn't as keen as it could be, but with some polish and hard work it could be-"

"-I wasn't talking about my 'intellect'!" Haruhi's eyes widened as she realized she'd just snapped _angrily_ at her master.

But Senpai's hands just tightened a bit around her shoulders as he sighed and pulled her into his chest.

As she listened to his heartbeat, (confused), he said, "Oh, Haruhi. You aren't just a toy. Whoever told you that never got the chance to hold you properly, did they?"

_Huh?_ She let her head rest against his chest, but couldn't relax.

He stroked her back lightly, his breath washing through her hair. "Haruhi, hear this and never forget it. You are 100% human, with as much right to happiness and love as anyone else." He leaned her forward to look into her eyes. "_No one_ should ever have been able to take that away from you, but they did, and I plan to fix that injustice as best as I know how, because you...are wonderful. And I rarely have to stretch so far to find a fitting word."

She paused a heartbeat before she began to fall apart. Every word was something she'd so utterly needed to hear for so _desperately _long. _If this is part of his plan, then he's even better at manipulation than I gave him credit for._ Nevertheless, she allowed herself, for now, to cling to him and cry quietly into his jacket.

"And Haruhi? I don't know why you thought it was your job to relieve my condition earlier, but that is something that you should never feel forced to do, okay? Blood rushing to certain parts of certain people's bodies does _not_ suddenly force you on your knees."

A sob escaped then. Haruhi wanted to say something, at least to thank him for his kindness, (for now).

But they didn't need more words; not really. So they sat on the bathroom floor until the dark spot on Kyoya's jacket was big enough to ring out into a cup before he called for his driver and carried her to the car.

* * *

><p>AN: Obviously, we're getting into it here. Any thoughts about Miss Janet? 8D


	15. Cosplay

It would be a lie to say that Kyouya hadn't chosen today's theme for personal reasons. True, it was a highly requested theme from multiple guests throughout the year. But he saw no reason not to kill two birds with one stone.

Although the club room was all but empty after the club activities, he still wore his close-tailored butler's suit as he calculated the days expenses. It almost suited him, were it not made for one of inferior position. He glanced across the room at Haruhi. There was his selfish reason. She looked just as he'd imagined in her lovely, silk maid dress, specially imported from France.

She must have hated it

She'd been in worse, of course. Things that didn't have fronts, or backs, or even sides in certain cases. She was used to it, (she thought). So why was it so strange to be in something like this again?

Of course it had nothing to do with the six guys in the room. Sometimes she wondered whether she preferred it with the (mentally) taxing guests around more._ Spoiled rich kids,_ she thought, picking at her hem with a disdainful expression.

Although she'd expected this a lot sooner, considering Senpai. She glanced his way, catching the end of a hungry expression he seemed to be expertly hiding. _Suoh-san had nothing to do with this cosplay, I'm positive of that._

Kyouya allowed his gaze to travel casually back to his papers. He really shouldn't allow himself to do things like that, but, sometimes, he just couldn't help it. He couldn't deny that he wanted her. But, at the very least, he could stop himself from acting on this desire.

"You're welcome to change, if you're uncomfortable."

It was instances like this where she couldn't figure out what protocol he expected her to follow. Bowing her head slightly, (as much to avoid eye contact as to hide her annoyance), she ventured, "I don't think that anything else would match, Senpai. And I know how precious our unity in our cosplays is. Our sales might drop if I did." _Even though these girls would pay to see us in hobo clothes..._

"I appreciate your dedication." He had a tenancy to sound somewhat sarcastic whenever he showed gratitude, but it was never outright enough to know for sure. "But it's getting late. I don't think we'll be expecting any more guests."

It was too late to try to understand what he wanted her to do, that's what was really going on. She huffed and rolled her eyes a bit. "I will change if you want me to, Senpai. What do you want me to do?" Defiantly, she looked up at him.

He looked to her again, raising his eyebrows just a bit. Interesting. "I want you to use your better judgment." He replied. The look in his eyes might have implied a double meaning that he hoped she was sharp enough to catch.

Even after all this host crap, her mind was still whirring along quickly. "Well," She replied, scratching the back of her head mindlessly, "I'd rather go put on my sweater and sweat pants, make some tea, and get my homework done so I can get some decent sleep tonight. I would _assume_ that, as you masterminded these costumes, with the help of Kaoru I'm sure, you would like me to keep it on. Or at the very least not go back to my comfortable clothes. So I don't know."

Oh, that was certainly what he'd _like,_ however, as he could not justify this in a logical fashion, he wasn't going to press that particular issue. She was, after all, off limits. "Go change, Haruhi. We'll be leaving soon."

She studied him for a moment. What was this person? Why did he seem to be trying SO hard to hold her at arm's length even when his eyes sparkled with want? The faint idea of him sending her back to change so he could ravish her in the changing booth flashed through her head before she shook it off and shrugged. "As you wish, Mast-Senpai, I mean."

Kyouya suppressed the thrilled shiver in his spine as a similar idea passed his mind. As usual, though, he did a very good job of keeping his thoughts under wraps. He turned back to his papers, trying very hard to focus on something else. He was becoming increasingly bad at that.

Her clothes abandoned in the last booth, she hurried to get out of the costume, both for comfort's sake and because it looked like it might rain later that night. (At which point she would most rather be at _home_, under an appropriate amount of bed spreads. The socks and shoes now lay at her feet as she reached around to get the back. "Senpai?"

His muscles tensed. He wasn't going to turn around. That would invite far to much temptation. He pretended to be very busy with his calculations, which in truth were finished quite a while ago. "Yes, Haruhi?"

_Humiliating. Horribly so, even._ "Could you come here for a second?"

Kyouya slowly lowered his pencil. Alright, fine. Nothing sexual was going on here. He moved across the room, attempting to be casual about it. He stood a few feet outside of the dressing room. Surely that was all she needed. "Is there a problem?"

Hopefully none of the other hosts were close enough to hear any of this. She shifted awkwardly, feeling like she was setting herself up for failure. "My...zipper."

"I see." He replied, at one of his rare losses for words. He cast a conspiratorial glance over his shoulder. Good. All those idiots were distracted with... Whatever they were doing. He didn't understand them. He lowered his voice, just in case. "I'm coming in, then." He slid past the curtain

She didn't turn, just stood there, feeling... vulnerable. Like she'd been stripped completely, and she was trying desperately not to quiver like a little girl. "It's-stuck." Even her voice was having a hard time staying rational.

Fine silk did have a tenancy to stick quite badly. He'd implored that the twins order a button-up, but they were far to concerned about offending her 'commoner sensibilities.' Whatever that meant. "Very well." He reached out, hands tense, grasping the end of the zipper, his finger tips just barely brushing the surrounding silk clinging to her back.

She shuddered as his fingers brushed her, lightly, lightly, light as a butterfly and it was almost not there. Why was this so surprising? Hadn't she been expecting this? She tried not to, but the tiny gasp has escaped past her best intentions, partially unheard by the bit of noise in the background.

He thought he might have heard something, but he put it out of his mind. If he just focused on the task (and, for heaven's sake. NOT the result) he could get this done and get out. Silently, gently, he tugged at the silk caught in the zipper.

When it finally came free, he took it upon himself to finish unzipping it. Again, his knuckles may have unintentionally teased at her. When he'd finished his task, a large part of him didn't want to stop. He paused.

It was this maddening slowness that was driving her crazy. The zipper was down, but his fingers were still there, and she caught herself irrationally hoping he wouldn't remove them. Now that her back was open to the world, (or just Senpai, though these days those two were about equivalent in her mind), she was getting colder and, instead of shaking from only apprehension, she was shivering from the temperature change too. _Why did he stop like that?_ "...Master?"

He seemed to find his mind again. "There you are." He replied in a clipped tone. "Do hurry up." He threw over his shoulder on his (admittedly hasty) retreat.

He was gone, the curtain sending her a breeze on his departure. Slowly, she wrapped her arms around herself, allowing all of the shakes she'd held back to pour out. _Why does he make me so weak?_ It didn't take her long, (after she'd taken a moment to _breathe_), to let the rest of her costume fall to the floor in heap and jump into her own clothes. Back in sneakers, she slung her bag over her shoulder and want to find Senpai. Clearing her throat, she said, "I'm ready, Kyouya-Senpai."

Kyouya had hidden himself in his own dressing room. Although he'd already finished changing, he'd decided to take a moment to himself to collect his thoughts and feelings. He was usually much better with controlling himself. It was practically second-nature to him since birth. But she made things... Complicated. He heard her calling for him again. He pushed the curtain aside. "Very good."

She shifted her bag a bit. Awkwardly, she sighed, "It's okay if you're not really ready yet. I can start my homework here." Even her glasses were back with her comfortable/ratty transformation. She pushed them up by the stem without much thought.

The corner of his mouth turned down into a very slight, perturbed frown. It was such an unflattering look for her. But, he supposed, it suited her in a way. "I've finished my work for the day." He said simple, passing her to collect his books. "And how are your grades doing?"

Even with her back to him, she shuddered at the thought of him seeing her expression. As she was still trying to adjust to the pressures of academics again, she often struggled or right out forgot to do the homework assignments. Even with the fast learner she was, the grades weren't reflecting her "catching up" as much as she knew he'd like. "...Fine...I guess."

"Hm." He replied. "I'm afraid 'fine' simply won't cut it." He thought about it. With her people skills, he wasn't entirely sure a tutor was the best move. Hm. He quickly checked his schedule on his phone. "I'm afraid we don't have many options. I'll have to tutor you."

The surprise and horror that flashed across Haruhi's face were quickly muted, if not filed carefully away for future reference. "I...You don't have to, Senpai. Couldn't someone...else? What I mean to ask is, wouldn't that be inconvenient for you?"

"Not nearly as inconvenient as if you were to fail under _my_ scholarship." He replied coolly.

The unnecessary reference to the money. Yes. "Thank you, then."

He wasn't sure she would be thanking him by the time her was through with her. He was quite an efficient teacher, when he had to be. "You will spend at least an hour with me every day until you can adjust to school life. Is that clear?"

An extra hour away from home would be quite inconvenient. "Yes, but-" She hesitated for a moment, "Could we at least meet at my father's apartment? I need to make him dinner at night and the transit would make that difficult." She couldn't quite call anywhere 'home', at least, not yet.

Hm. Not ideal, but then, this was supposed to be for her benefit. He supposed he could squeeze a bit of extra commute time into his schedule. "Very well." He replied. "Get your books."

She nodded and gathered her things into the satchel he'd given her and looked up to him when she was done. Maybe it was how she'd been living, but the less she had to speak, the more comfortable she felt.

He could appreciate the benefits of a quiet companion. He wasn't one to speak much, himself. "Well, we can't stand around all day. Come on." He was off, glancing behind himself once or twice to ensure she was following him to his car,.

While the others had already dispersed by the time they walked out of Music Room 3, Haruhi suddenly wondered if any of them had noticed how often Ootori-Sama actually gave her a ride home. Wouldn't they get suspicious. "Senpai? Do the others see us leave together?"

Of course he'd taken proper precautions. Hadn't he? "It's unlikely." He replied, before tossing a surreptitious glance over his shoulder. He hoped not.

"They must think I'm your girlfriend." Ever the blunt one.

Although the light bouncing off his his glasses did a good job of hiding his expression, event hat couldn't hide the frown. Oh, if only. "There's no need to concern yourself." He would go great lengths to squash any nasty little rumors that might pop up.

She glowered. He didn't have to be so nasty about it. If she was anyone else, she would make a great girlfriend! "If there are any other matters about myself I shouldn't concern myself with, let me know." She replied sarcastically, shocking even herself as she realized what/to whom she was speaking.

He was a little taken aback, himself. As much as he wanted her to act like a normal girl again, he was somewhat irritated that HIS property- but then... She still had a mind of her own. That was a good thing. "Would you like a list?" He snipped, although he didn't sound entirely angry.

She sighed audibly, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, Senpai. That was way out of line. I didn't get much sleep last night, so I've been a bit off all day." Which was completely proven as she told her _owner_ about her sleeping troubles. What was wrong with her?

"Is that so?" He asked. "And what were you doing last night to keep you up?" He paused as his chauffeur opened the door for them.

She colored brightly, scowling just as deep. "I couldn't sleep."

"Hm." He replied cryptically. He slid into the car, motioning for her to do the same. "Well, I should hope it won't happen again."

She plopped down next to him, wondering what it would be like to sit on the floor again. "Thank you." She wanted to explain that of _course_ it would, that she had nightmares every night, but just dropped her bag to the floor instead.

The ride was a quiet one. Kyouya's gaze traveled out his tinted window, into the sky above. A casual observer might have mistaken this for some sort of distant, day-dreamy sort of look. But Kyouya wasn't one for day dreams. No, he was very much caught up in trying to sort out his feelings for this 'peasant.' Sometimes, hes wondered if the feelings were not entirely sexual... But that was silly.

As Senpai had gotten quiet, Haruhi busied herself with responding to her texts. Most of them were from the twins, (specifically Hikaru), and the rest from Tamaki. Hang on, there was even one from Huni inviting her to tea that weekend. She snuck a glance at Master, wondering if she was supposed to ask permission. She sighed, leaving that one unanswered as the car pulled to a stop in front of the apartment building.

The chauffeur once again opened the door for the two of them. Kyouya instructed him to take a drive around town, so as not to attract attention in this humble little burg of Haruhi's. "I assume your father won't mind my company?"

It was a useless question, of course. Ranka _loved_ his darling Ootori-chan. "He won't mind. Do _you_ mind if I put dinner on before we start?"

"I suppose I can wait." He replied. Come to think of it, he'd never had Haruhi's cooking before. He was lead to believe it was somewhat romantic for a woman to cook for you. A silly notion, but...

She unlocked the door and tossed the keys in the holder carelessly before slipping on her house slippers. It was a good thing the others weren't here, actually. They seemed to fight a lot when she cooked. _I wonder why that is?_ "Dad! I'm home!"

Kyouya almost forgot to take his shoes off. A ritual he had yet to become accostumed to since his downward decent into the common man's life. "I'm coming in." He greeted.

Ranka seemed to have been sprawled out in the tiny living room with a magazine. He seemed to find a hidden reserve of energy once he saw the two of them come through the door. "Ah, welcome home, Haruhi!" He was up with his arms around her in a flash. "And Kyouya! It's good to see you again."

She wiggled stiffly before pushing out of the embrace. "He's eating with us tonight, Dad. How long until your shift starts?"

"I apologize for the intrusion." Kyouya said, dipping his head just slightly, adopting his mind-mannered host personality in less than a second. "Haruhi and I have business to discuss, and we agreed that it would be more comfortable here."

Ranka practically bubbled with happiness. "Of course, Kyouya-san! You know you're always welcome here!" He petted at the rich boy's shoulder lovingly before turning to his daughter. "I have to leave in about an hour, darling. Of course, I could always be late if your home cooking was going to take longer..."

She rolled her eyes over the rice cooker. "No, the food can be done within a half hour. Just leave me be for a bit so I can work."

Kyouya smiled politely. "How has work been, Ranka-san?" While he was their guest, it was only proper to stir up some trivial pleasantries while Haruhi was occupied. Menial, but such was life.

"Oh, absolutely BORING! If only there were men like you to keep me occupied, Kyouya-san." He was closely watching his daughter, and when she was involved enough to not notice, he turned to the boy fully. "Ootori, how is my daughter doing? Really?"

Ah, he was much more apt for business discussions such as this. He relaxed, his mannerisms becoming more natural. "She's taking time to adjust, as expected. Given the short period of time, however, I would say she's doing rather well." He decided not to mention a few of the more traumatizing shenanigans going on as of late. That was between him and his daughter.

The man sighed, looking much more his age, (and gender), when so tired. "I've been so worried about her. I wish I could at least be at home over night to ward off the nightmares, but I can't even do that." He shot the boy a serious look. "You know she's been having those, right?"

He frowned. "She hadn't mentioned it." Ah, that explains the lack of sleep. He allowed his eyes to travel to the doorway, watching Haruhi move about the kitchen. But there wasn't that much he could do... Right? "If you will allow, I will watch her for the night."

He had no idea why he said that.

Ranka smiled, the lines of worry showing through his expert makeup. "I would appreciate that very much, Ootori-san. We don't have any extra mats, although you could use mind. But nothing that would be up to your standards, certainly."

"It will be sufficient, thank you." He replied. He was almost hoping for a rejection. Explaining the situation to Haruhi might give her the wrong idea. Well, he would simply have to cross that bridge when he came to it.

"Just... be there for her, will you? I've come home to her blood-shot eyes before, Ootori." He pursed his lips anxiously. "She really just needs someone steady to get her through."

"There's no need for you to worry." He put on his polite, public face again. "She'll be well looked after, I assure you."

Haruhi had found certain leftovers from the past few days, and combined them into a stir fry of sorts, cutting down on the cooking time by quite a bit. She glanced into the other room, noticing, (but not registering), how serious they both looked. "If you're both ready, it's done," she said, serving two bowls and scooping some into a mug for herself.

"Ah, excellent." He gave Ranka one last loaded look of assurance, before making his way to the kitchen to observe the local fares. Well, it wasn't foi gras, but it didn't look to offensive. "Thank you, Haruhi." He looked around for the dining room, before remembering he was in an apartment. He was so out of place.

Noticing his distress with some mirth, Haruhi politely whispered, "It would be my honor to sit with you on the floor, Senpai." She pointed, grinning slightly.

Well, she was certainly getting gutsy. Perhaps he'd underestimated her adaptive instincts. "Nothing would please me more." He responded, with a small measure of sarcasm.

They ate quietly, Ranka interjecting a few unimportant comments when the silence was too much for him. Haruhi snuck a few glances at Senpai, wondering how _this_ had come to feel like her family unit.

Kyouya did his best to keep up a friendly conversation, but he found it tedious at best. He liked Ranka well enough, it was just that... The whole 'family' thing was foreign to him.

Wiping his mouth, Ranka heaved a satisfied sigh. "That was delicious, Haruhi! You're going to give me belly bloat before I see all my clients!" He stood, slinging a large purse over his shoulder. "See you both in the morning!"

Haruhi frowned. Both of them? Kyouya-senpai wouldn't... "Bye, Dad." She said distantly. "Senpai, are you..."

"Good evening, Ranka-san. Don't work to hard." He waited until Ranka had left to respond. He thought up the best way to phrase this in his head. "Your father and I have agreed that it's in your best interest if I spend the night." Yup, way to break it slowly, genius.

Her muscles tensed instantly, her core aching sympathetically. She swallowed hard, having known this would come the whole time. _The cosplay..._ "I-I..." She dropped her head apologetically, "I left it at school!"

"Your homework?" Judging by her gross overreaction, he was beginning to think that perhaps the studying should be left for tomorrow. Unless this was about something else? Honestly, this girl needed a mind reader sometimes.

He was playing with her. He had to be! She balled her hands into the loose pajamas, absently wondering how much longer _those_ would be whole. "No, my homework is in my bag, I just..." Come on, Haruhi. Maybe he would go easier on her for their first time if she admitted to forgetting it outright! "I left the maid costume! At... school..."

Now, why would- Oh. It was a sad fact that he was getting used to these little outbursts of hers. He was also, slowly, learning how to deal with them. "For our purposes tonight, we won't be needing it. And, for future reference, it is Host Club property. Taking it home would be frowned on. Now, go get your books."

She frowned again, apprehensively. "Master, the school will fine us-er, me, if they are damaged. Please allow me to pleasure you without them?" Her fingers were convulsing.

Kyouya let out a sigh of thinning patience. "Haruhi, please keep in mind that I am only here in the interest of your grades." He adjusted his glasses.

Why was he playing with her? She blew out the breath she'd been holding and nodded jerkily. "I will get the books."

"Thank you." There was that clipped tone again. He was certainly not the best person to deal with this type of damage. But then, he'd bought her, he supposed he had to do something about it. "Haruhi."

She didn't look at him, not while she still assumed danger was lurking so near. "Master?"

"I'm only reminding you that you are, for all intents and purposes, under my protection now." He replied. "Until your debt is paid."

"Protection is a name taken by many different things, Senpai."

She had a point. "I mean to say that you should feel comfortable around me." He replied. That sounded so much better. Especially before he said it. "Because I... Have your best interests in mind." Much better.

She looked up at him, trying to see through those utterly unsatisfying glasses. "Thank you. It..." Haruhi scratched her face fleetingly. "It almost sounds true coming from you, Senpai. May we study now?"

'Almost?' That would have to do for now. "Please." He motioned to a space on the trouble for her books. "Where are you having the most trouble?"

Maybe they could actually just study tonight, then sleep separately, without having sex, and Haruhi could just dream of nothing. Really, _that_ was the dream right there. She pulled out her homework. "Umm..." She hated to admit this, "All of it."

He was afraid of that. But, he agreed to this, and he would stick to it. "Very well." He spread her books out on the table, trying to remember last year's lessons. "Let's start with history." And so began the tutoring session.

She'd made them both two cups of tea before they had gone over it all. And while tea usually didn't keep her awake very well, tonight it seemed to be keeping them both very sharp. When she could finally tuck the last page away, it was nearing one in the morning.

Kyouya looked up at the clock. Well, that took longer than he'd wanted it to. And he would pay for it in the morning. "Well done, Haruhi." He stifled a yawn. "I'd like to get some sleep now, assuming you have no other business to take care of?"

She shook her head languidly. Normally she would have wondered why _he_ didn't, but now she was simply too tired to care. "Let me make up Dad's mat for you...It'll only take a minute."

"Thank you." He allowed himself to rest his elbow on the table, if only to prop up his head until she got back. It was very informative, watching her in her own home for a while. It was an unfortunate discovery, but an important one. He let out a quiet yawn once she'd left the room.

Ranka's room was messier than Haruhi's, though that was normal. Feeling as if she should clean the whole thing quickly for Senpai, but genuinely so tired that she felt as if she could barely move, she simply cleared the bed and changed the covers. When she emerged, Senpai was wearing the most confusing expression she'd ever seen on his face. Was he really that tired? Was he letting his guard down or... She could barely even come up with another scenario in her muddled mind. "The bed is ready, Ootori-sama." She flinched. She had been trying not to use the scripting she'd been taught, but this one had flown out in her exhaustion.

Kyouya lifted his head, suddenly alert again, it would seem. "Ah, good." He stood, stretching out his back muscles a bit. He was hardly used to siting on the floor, especially for such extended periods of time. And now he got to sleep on a mat. Ah, do the wonders never cease? He made for the bedroom, and paused briefly. "Goodnight, Haruhi. Don't hesitate, should you-" it felt so weird saying something like this. But he continued anyways. "Need me."

A markedly confused looked passed briefly across her face. "Thank you, Senpai." Was he being nice or hinting at something? Better to play it safe. "Ditto."

He would certainly _like_ a few things. But he wasn't going to get any of them tonight. He pretended not to hear her. He found his way to the bedroom, wishing he'd thought a bit ahead and had someone send him his nightclothes. Ah, well. He removed his jacket and shirt, and all but collapsed onto the mat, forgetting for a moment that it wasn't his bed. Bad idea.

She heard the _oof_ before she realized what it was. Though it was understandable, having lived in a palace all your life to expect five star sleeping mats everywhere. Distantly she wondered what he was _actually _doing here tonight. Shaking her head, she lay down, calculating exactly how much sleep she would get if she could sleep through the night from right..._now._

After getting over the initial ache, and fidgeting around quite a bit, he somehow managed to find a position where he didn't feel like he would need a chiropractor in the morning. Hopefully.

His thoughts were all but entirely on Haruhi as he quickly, finally, drifted off to sleep.

She didn't know how it happened, but she'd somehow fallen asleep. (Probably at the hands of her taxing homework) Inevitably, she'd begun dreaming horrible dreams, and the one she found herself in startled her awake after being pushed off of a cliff. Back in her room, she stared at the ceiling wide-eyed. It had just been a dream, after all. Nothing to worry about, right? Although, she did have a guest over. Irrationally, she wondered if he needed anything. Maybe she should go check...

"No." She shook herself out of it. Why would he need anything? She settled back down, trying to fall asleep again. But there was a noise. And another. And it sounded like everyone was in her room, trying to push her off that cliff again and suddenly she was at Dad's door, knocking tensely, trying to convince herself that the apartment was _empty_, but of course it_ wasn't_, because Senpai was here.

Sluggishly, Kyouya opened his eyes. Had he slept through his alarm clock again, or-0 Suddenly, he was quite awake. He quickly scurried out of bed (if you could call it that) and to the door. He pulled it open with some sense of urgency that he couldn't place. "Haruhi?"

Her red-rimmed eyes shot to his desperately. "Why-Why are they coming for me? I told them..." She glanced around, as if finding conspirators at that very moment. Turning her whole inconsolable face to his, she whispered, "Help."

Perhaps it was exhaustion, or a lack of practice, but Kyouya was entirely at a loss for what to do. "Haruhi, there's no one here." He reached out, gingerly placing a hand on her shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting, nonthreatening fashion.

She looked at the hand suspiciously, then back at him. "How do you know?"

A fair enough question, coming from such a paranoid mind. He knew a thing or two about paranoia, grooming himself for the medical business, and he knew it could be tricky to deal with. "I'll show you." He removed his hand from her shoulder and, carefully, tentatively, slid it into her hand.

It was only through much deduction that Haruhi realized _whom_ was holding her hand. "Does this mean..." she raised her eyebrows, "that you'll keep them away?"

He wondered if he shouldn't play in to this delusion of hers. After all, no one was coming after her. He had a feeling she wasn't going to buy it in this state. "Of course. I told you I would protect you."

She blinked, her eyes dilating and widening again for no appropriate reason. "But... you're all the way..." she gave a meaningful glance, (whether she meant to or not), around the room, "over here."

He furrowed his brows. "What are you talking about?" He squeezed her hand just a little tighter. "I'm right here."

She yawned. "Senpai, you need to sleep in my room. You need to scare them away."

Oh, not this. He wasn't sure he could take this. What's more, what would Ranka say when he got home? But, then again, he'd promised to look after her while he was away.

"Alright." He said softly. "If that would make you feel better."

Haruhi didn't answer, just pulled him up and led him to her room. She stopped at the door, turning slightly with a concerned expression on her face. "Senpai?" She ventured, looking up at him, "Why do they only come for me when you're not around?"

This would be a much easier question to answer if he had some idea who 'they' were. "Because, they know what I'll do if they come near you." Are paused on his way through the doorway. It felt like a barrier he shouldn't pass under this 'off limits' rule. "Now, get to sleep. We have school in just a few hours."

Her hand was still clutching his though, so she nodded and tugged at him. "It will be easier," she said, dropping his hand to sit down on the mat, "to wake up if we're together anyway, right?"

Oh, he was certain of that fact. Nothing quite gets the blood flowing in the morning like- well, anyways. "Perhaps." He replied. He stood awkwardly beside the mat. Was he supposed to share a mat with her? That was definitely not an option. Perhaps he would just wait until she fell asleep, then retrieve the second mat. Yes

She pulled the covers up over herself, watching Senpai closely. Why wasn't he sitting down, too? Then she realized she'd sat down in the middle, and scooted over quickly. "I'm sorry for making you wait, Senpai." She let her head hang with her apology. "But you can sit down now if you're ready."

So much for that. "Very well." He awkwardly lowered himself down next to her. While it was certainly much warmer with another body so close, he wasn't sure he could get much sleeping done under the circumstances

Politely, she covered him too, thinking something about how /the snakes at the end of the bed can't get me if he's there, too/, and sat for a moment. "Can I...? Can we...Can I lean on you...Master?" She sent another conspiratorial glance around the room.

"If you wish." He replied. Might as well. He slid an arm around her, as well, assuming a complete protective stance.

Slowly, even in her current state, she still felt the need to slide down to lay on Senpai's chest tentatively. It might have been awkward that he was still forgoing a shirt, had she noticed. She wondered why he felt so stiff, but couldn't help but feel a bit... content. It was strange, really, to have someone around at night. "Ootori...sama?"

He did his best to stay still, lest he cause her more discomfort. Though, staying still under such influence was... Difficult, at best. "Yes, Haruhi?" He asked, trying to keep his voice even.

"Did you ever have trouble sleeping when you were little?" She was grasping for something, anything to talk about. All she needed was a little bit of _time_ so she could relax. Just to hear his voice for a while longer.

"No, not particularly." He replied. He'd always lead a high society, guilt free life, after all. He had no demons to hide. "Only when I would stay up to study." He amended. He did spend an inordinate amount of time in books in those days.

"What did you like to play?" She vaguely noticed how taut the muscles she was touching were, running her fingers across the skin lightly.

He shuddered. Oh, no, he wasn't going to put up with this. He brought up a hand to take her, gentle, about with an urgent sort of firmness. "I wasn't much for games."

She was beginning to relax, for being in what was really an extremely compromising situation. Her mind didn't register why he'd taken her hand, and contented herself twining her fingers through his. "No games? Didn't your school friends get mad at you?"

He slowly moved her hand away from himself, letting it rest on the mat between them. He didn't really have time for friends back then. There was nothing to gain from it, after all. "No."

"No?" She pulled the covers up higher, wishing for another blanket. She had to content herself with curling herself in farther on Senpai. (She'd kill herself in the morning) "What did you do then?"

"I had several textbooks to work through." He replied. This was all getting far to personal for his tastes. "What about you? What did you do before-" He stopped himself. She probably got the message.

Before _that_. Yeah, it was pretty obvious. She stared at the blanket, "I...don't remember much. I was with my mother in the court room a lot."

"An odd place for a child to be." Kyouya replied. "But then, I suppose it suited you just fine."

"I learned a lot." She paused. "But I didn't like it when the judge would have to ask me questions. It was confusing."

Kyouya furrowed his eyebrows. He had an idea of what she was hinting at, but he felt that asking her now would be very detrimental to a good night's sleep. What was left of the night, anyways. He would have to look into the matter himself later. "Hm, and what about you and your friends?"

Her laugh was a little thing, more like a _snuff_. "Dad thought they were all spies. I used to watch the other kids play outside in the lobby of the courthouse, though."

Well, this conversation was going downhill fast. "And what about now? How are you enjoying Ouran?"

She was falling asleep now, and fast. "Yeah... Senpai, will you..."

"Hm?" He asked, quiet enough that he wouldn't wake her.

But she was finally, (finally) asleep, dreaming of nothing and breathing deeply.

Kyouya let out a relieved sigh. Well, that was taken care of. But after all that stimulation, he wasn't sure he was going to be getting any sleep any time soon. Although, he was quite warm, right here, next to her... His head lolled.

"Haruhi?" A gentle hand was shaking her, _Senpai?_ as she opened her eyes. "Haruhi, wake up." She opened her eyes to her Dad, crouching next to the mat, and still dressed from work.

As she tried to sit up, she realized she was tangled in something... Senpai's arm, actually. She smiled at her father, gently putting Kyouya's arm over his own chest. _What happened last night?_ "I'll go make breakfast."

Ranka watched her leave the room. She looked... rested.

Kyouya heard the noise, but didn't really comprehend it. It was actually when he registered that he wasn't in his own bed that he remembered where he was, and decided to make some attempt at waking up. He blearily opened his eyes, blinking away the sleepiness and fumbling for his glasses until he remembered he'd left them in Ranka's room. Oh. Ranka was right there, wasn't he. There was a tense, awkward silence.

Turning blazing eyes on the boy, he commented, "You seem to have left your shirt elsewhere, Ootori-san."

He looked dumbly down at his naked chest. It wasn't too early for the horror of the situation to set in. He handled it with his trademark calm, however. "I was only here to keep her calm."

He crossed his arms, unconvinced. "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to see your pants, please." Ranka looked pointedly at him, hoping he was stern enough to show his complete seriousness.

Calmly (always remain calm, otherwise you'll look guilty) he stood, pushing the blanket off of his lap as he did so. "She had a rough night." He was just shy of pleading.

He could be telling the truth, Ranka supposed, but he couldn have simply righted his pants after the fact. Although, after all, he /did/ ask him to be there for his daughter. Maybe all the flirtiness the night had brought had rendered him a bit suspicious. "Well," He said, hoping not to sound as if he was conceding the whole issue, "I suppose she did look very rested. Thank you, Kyouya-san."

"Of course, Ranka-san." He bowed his head just a touch. Perhaps staying the night hadn't been his wisest decision. Oh well. At least Haruhi understood. He hoped.

The night did however leave his daughter's guardian looking _very_ handsome. He smiled finally and sang, "And if she doesn't work out, don't hesitate to come see me, Kyo-chan!"

He grimaced inwardly. "Thank you for the kind invite, Ranka-san, but I assure you, there is nothing of the sort going on here." He began to shuffle out of the room to find his shirt and glasses. It was too early for these shenanigans.

Haruhi turned deliberately to get the plates when Senpai stepped out of her room. She was one big wince today, wasn't she? What on EARTH had she been thinking? There was _nothing_ good that came from sharing such intimate information with her _owner._ She took a sip of her water, then realized it wasn't tea. _Hm,_ she thought, _I've always needed tea before school..._

He snatched a little glance at her on his way to retrieve his things. She certainly looked much better today than she had last night. Yes, good. As he slipped into his jacket, he caught himself wishing he could always be there to help her through the night. But that was absurd. He stepped out to join the family for breakfast.

She served breakfast as normally as she could, at least for the fact that Senpai was here. Haruhi could barely bring herself to look his direction. _I am SO stupid!_ (The only thing her mind could bear to produce) When they'd eaten, she exited gruffly to change her clothes.

Well, things would be awkward between them for a while. But, what's done is done, he supposed. It wasn't like things weren't already tense between the two of them. "Are you about ready, Haruhi?" He called through the door. "I have the car waiting."

She halted a bit at his voice, but simply slung her satchel on and exited the room, nodding. This was going to be a long day.

"Very good, then." He motioned for her to follow. He saw no reason not to go about business as usual. After all, nothing happened last night. Nothing of consequence. Yes, just sweep it all under the rug and everything will be just. Fine. He slipped into the car, as he did every morning.

He was a bit rumpled, at least from Haruhi's perspective. She wrinkled her nose, wondering if she should tell him that his shirt was showing it's two-day long life. "Did you bring another set of clothes, Senpai?"

"Well, I hadn't been anticipating an overnight stay." He paused to let out a yawn. He needed a cup of real coffee. "We'll be stopping at my house first. Do you have an objection?"

She let her worry fall away. Of course he hadn't been expecting to go to school like that. "No, that was it. Thank you, by the way."

"Don't mention it." He said through another yawn. Really, he wouldn't know what to say if she _did_ mention it.

She raised an eyebrow. He probably thought she meant for... no. "What I meant to say was thank you for the help, Senpai. With my homework. It'll be nice to turn it all in today."

"Ah, of course." _Of course._ "Perhaps we can finish at a decent hour tonight not that you've caught up."

"I wouldn't want to inconvenience you, Senpai. You made it very clear at the beginning that my studies were my responsibility." She rolled her eyes, wishing she could add that the host club was completely unnecessary...

"That is true. However, your success would be in both of our best interests." He replied. And, if he was being honest with himself, he didn't mind a little extra time with her. To a certain extent.

Why would her success in the field of academics be linked with his whatsoever? Before recently, she would have assumed the only success of her's that would benefit him would be to master a new type of kinky sex trick. "It's all very kind of you," she said instead. "I can concede to studying with you at school after club if that's more convenient."

"It would be, however," Blunt as always. "There would be no one to make dinner for your father were that the case."

"Not if you could tutor me in the cooking class's kitchen." She quipped.

Hm. A logical suggestion, he supposed. "Very well. We'll do as you wish." Perhaps it would be uncomfortable to return after that incident.

There. That was a reasonable request, wasn't it? The other hosts wouldn't find out, as it were, and they didn't have to go to either of their houses. Haruhi could make dinner and bring it back for Dad, no harm done. "Thank you."

"Of course." He replied, as though he were a proper gentleman who was expected to make these sorts of compromises. The car came to a stop. "Hm. I'll only be a moment. You're free to come in, if you wish."

She didn't wish, that was for sure, but she shrugged as if she actually didn't care and followed him out. 'If you wish' usually means you should absolutely do, no matter what it was when you were in her position. There was the weighty matter on her mind that last night he /must have/ wanted her while she was in that mild state, and expected it to come at any time. In turn, she was a bit more jumpy than usual.

Mercifully, there was real coffee waiting for him. The staff knew him far to well. He snagged a cup before making off to his bedroom. "Help yourself." He offered. Assuming she didn't follow him to his room, as well. He needed to watch himself for triggers, he was learning.

She hoped that coming home this late/early was at least semi-normal for Senpai, because it was a bit mortifying to think what the other servants would think if they figured it out. Okay, so they already had their guesses, (it was a pretty average thing to assume with those circumstances), but she certainly wasn't going to give them anything /else/ to talk about. She did accept the coffee however, more out of habit than anything else.

Kyouya didn't seem to terribly concerned with appearances. If anything got out, they would have to answer to him, and he was certain no one was willing to go _that_ far for a little gossip. He soon found her again, new shirt and much more awake.

When Senpai returned, it was the crisp, hawk-eyed Kyouya Haruhi was was used to. She felt a bit sheepish with the cup of coffee in her hand, even though he had offered it to her himself. She set it aside unwillingly, casting it a forlorn look as she stood.

"You'll find the cup holders in the car are sufficient for a coffee mug." He couldn't bare the sight of wasted coffee in the morning.

"I can bring-?" She was unreasonably grateful for the little gesture. "Ah," She said instead, clutching the mug back to her chest. "Indeed they are. Are you ready?"

Heh. Kind of cute. But, that was of no consequence. "I am." He motioned for her to follow. They were running just a touch late now, but it was worth it for a change of clothes.

She trotted after him, her legs no match for his long strides. Plus, they were running behind. Of course, Kyouya liked to get to school _much _in advance, but that was beside the point. The stop at his mansion was worth it, too. Kaoru would have noticed the rumpled clothes instantly, and after Hikaru had been clued in, Haruhi would have never heard the end of it all day.

On the way to school, Kyouya explained that the driver would let her off at the door, she would go to class while Kyouya took another spin around the block, to avoid arriving at the same time. That might stir up suspicion.

His life was getting so complicated as of late.

When the car pulled to a stop at the school, and the driver came around to get her door, (he'?) she turned to Senpai. "So... have a good day, I suppose."

"I'll see you at the club." He replied with a nod of his head. It would be good to put some distance between themselves for a time.

She nodded and let the driver hand her out of the vehicle, wondering why her throat got so dry around Senpai. ...Whatever. She had a long day ahead of her.

Kyouya let his head rest against the window as the driver took him around the block once more. What an interesting night. He only hoped the day would be a normal one.

Even with the twins' incessant chattering throughout the day, (come to think of it, was this why she could never learn anything in class?) Haruhi got good notes from her subjects and proudly turned in every scrap of homework she had due that day. It wasn't until mid-day that she remembered she'd never packed a lunch.

Kyouya had tried to put the whole mess out of his head, and had almost succeeded by the time lunch rolled around. Until he saw her again in the lunchroom. It was customary, after all, for the club to eat together. Just fly casual. "Good afternoon."

"Hello, Kyouya-Senpai." She felt a bit lost. Although she supposed that this would free her from the everyday annoyance of Hikaru and Tamaki fighting about her lunch.

"Kyou~ya~!" The blonde boy bounced as he sat down next to his friend. What was Haruhi going to bring today? Ooooh, and maybe today would be the day he could finally try some of it! It must taste delicious; Haruhi made it with her own hands! Those soft, little hands... "What did you bring *Daddy* today, my beautiful darling Haruhi?" He sang, eagerly ignoring his own food

Kyouya sighed. Everything had to be a spectacle with that man. It occurred to Kyouya that he hadn't noticed her packing a lunch at any point. Oh well. It wasn't like every boy at this table (and every girl in the room, for that matter) wouldn't jump at the chance of buying her something.

Kaoru rested his chin on the unsuspecting girl's shoulder. "Wha'cha got? Can we share?"

Haruhi scowled, feeling more annoyed by the second. She was so _stupid_! Club was going to be horrible on an empty stomach!

"No, I actually... forgot to pack a lunch today." She hurried through the last bit, her frown deepening into Dark Lord mode.

Hikaru's eyes widened. "You... forgot?" He threw a smirk at Kaoru. They could have fun with this one.

Kaoru smirked back at his brother. "Uh oh! You can't skip lunch, Haruhi!" He teased in singsong.

Hikaru slung his arm across her shoulders. "Think how hungry you'll be all the way through classes!"

"Maybe if you say something nice." Kaoru drew out his syllables. "We'll get you something."

"That's okay, Haru-chan!" Honey stepped in to be the hero. "You can have some of mine!" He held aloft a tray packed with colorful pastries.

Haruhi brightened a bit, though the pastries weren't exactly her first choice. "Thank you, Huni-Senpai." She rolled her eyes. "_Some_ people don't know how to be as kind as you."

Tamaki's eyes widened. "HARUHI! I can be as kind as Huni-Senpai! I can be kinder than Huni-Senpai!" He grabbed his lunch plate, thrusting it out to her desperately. "Here! Take mine!"

Unfortunately, it was hot soup, and with the force of his thrust, it spilled out onto her generously. She jumped up, cursing and wishing Senpai wasn't here to see her ruin her school uniform.

Tamaki was in a panic. "Haruhi! I'm so sorry! Let me help! Oh, I'll get napkins! And towels!"

"Good job, boss." Kaoru sighed.

Kyouya rubbed at his eyes. Why did he put up with these people every day? This wouldn't do. "Hikaru, Kaoru, would you be so kind as to go requisition Haruhi a new uniform?"

Haruhi was standing, dripping; she scowled again, (how long had it left?) and huffed, "I suppose I'll have to go change." She turned to Kyouya. "Can it be delivered to the Music Room, Kyouya-Senpai?"

Hikaru raised his eyebrows. "But Senpai just asked us to do that," he whispered to his twin.

"Senpai has been awfully quiet today." Kaoru whispered back.

Kyouya shot the twins a silencing glance. "I will see that it is." He replied. "As it seems I will have to do it myself, anyways." He stood. No, he wasn't planning on eating or anything today.

Tamaki froze before jumping at his friend. "Mon ami, let me help! I can help somehow, can't I, Kyouya?"

"Frankly, no you can't." Kyouya replied, not that he expected this response to sway Tamaki in any way.

Tamaki's face fell. "She's my daughter, and I caused the mess! Please let me help?"

Haruhi rolled her eyes. "I'm standing here waiting for this argument to be over in hot soup. Just let him help, Senpai. Please?"

"Very well." Kyouya conceded. Why did it fall to him to divvy responsibilities? "Go get Haruhi some towels." He began making his way to the office for a new uniform.

Haruhi began waddling after him. "Uh, Sen-"

Hikaru jumped in, "Here, Haruhi! Let us walk you to the club room!"

Kaoru enthusiastically grabbed her by the elbow. "First years gotta stick together, right?"

Kyouya would have much rather escorted her himself, however, lunch period was running short and they seemed to have no intention of helping things move smoothly. "Behave." He all but growled under his breath.

Hikaru gulped a bit, glancing at Kaoru over Haruhi's head. They both knew what that meant to them. ...Ah well! "Gotcha!" They called to the Ootori's retreating figure. "We better get you to the Music Room, eh Haruhi?"

She let herself be dragged along. "You guys are way too peppy."

If Kaoru heard her comment, he had no reply for her as they whisked her off to the Music room. He might have made a comment about helping her out of her uniform if Kyouya hadn't seemed so high strung lately. He wondered what was up...

"Thank you." Kyouya accepted the new uniform. It took a bit longer than he would have liked. He imagined Haruhi was probably fairly anxious around those two as it was. He had to work out a better system one of these days

The last booth, the one she'd changed in yesterday, was devoid of any suspicious cosplay by now. Haruhi sat apprehensively. She certainly hadn't wanted to get any food on the carpet, (how much would that add to her debt?), but couldn't _stand_ having it next to her skin for so long. The pants were folded neatly, sitting on the floor, accusing her of dirtying the carpet. (Even though she'd tried her best not to let the soaked parts touch the floor. Her shirt and jacket were still on though, so now she was just waiting for Senpai.

Hikaru was trying _his_ best to keep her occupied while she waited. He called in jokes and riddles, but even with his and Kaoru's arsenal of tomfoolery, he quickly ran out.

Kyouya was pleased to find the two, seemingly behaving themselves. He passed them, and stood outside the changing room once more "Haruhi. I have your uniform."

They heard a sigh of relief from behind the curtain. "Thanks, Senpai." Her hand came out, hold a folded item. "Can you take my soiled pants?" Hikaru let out a guaff.

And of course, it was then that Tamaki had arrived, (surprisingly quiet!) with the towels. He dropped them and let out a horrified screech. "Mother!"

Kyouya took the dirty uniform before dealing with the others. "If the three of you could conduct yourselves in a more adult manner?"

Hikaru snorted. "It looks like she already did." At that, Tamaki lost it and fainted.

Kyouya shot the twin a very dark look. "Leave it." He spoke very quietly, very controlled. And Kaoru was just a little but terrified. There was definitely something going on here.

Honey, just a bit late to the party, busied himself trying to revive the boss.

Haruhi sighed, getting into the clothing as quickly as possible. She, of course, could hear the whole conversation, and was a bit mortified, (and extremely angry) that anyone would even _suggest_ she did... those kinds of things to herself. (And then asked Senpai to clean it up?) She buttoned the last button and stepped out to see Hikaru in a state of near peeing his pants. She turned to Kyouya. "Sorry," she apologized softly, "I can make up for the uniform with the rest of it."

"No need." Kyouya replied. "I'll just have it cleaned. And, of course, add the dry cleaning to your debt."

She tried not to grimace. Although it wouldn't be as much as the whole uniform, would it?

Kyouya sent a quick text to his assistant to come pick up the uniform to get it washed. He turned to his comrades. "Well? Haven't you all got classes to get to?" He nudged at Tamaki's limp body with his foot. "You, too."

He opened his eyes slightly, "Kyouya, is our little girl alright?"

Hikaru helped his brother up to leave, half-watching the King's dramatics.

"I think she'll live." He replied, tempted to give his temple a good drubbing. Something about his face was just so tempting to kick. He restrained himself. "She might be late for her next class, however."  
>Haruhi had shuffled to the door. "I still didn't get any lunch." She looked around. "Did anyone happen to grab my bag?"<p>

Tamaki jumped up, running around the corner, arriving back a few seconds later with the satchel in question. "I thought you might need it," he said, hopefully watching her face for a positive reaction.

She looked at the bag and smiled. "Thanks, Tamaki-Senpai. That helps a lot." And shuffled away to class. The twins immediately were on either side of her, one to each arm, chatting about some unimportant thing.  
>Tamaki was letting her words sink in, positively beaming. "I... helped... Haruhi. A lot!" He turned joyous eyes to Kyouya. "That's good, isn't it, Kyouya? I made her happy?"<p>

"Yes, it's quite the feet you've accomplished." He was only half sarcastic. "Now that that's taken care of, I suggest we get back to class. We're already late." He certainly didn't need to be late to another class. He would be getting an earful if his father found out about it.

Tamaki was on top of the world. "Kyouya, do you think Haruhi will remember this forever? I hope she will!" He followed his friend grandly through the hallways. "I could carry her bag always! Then she would never forget how happy I made her!"

"I'm sure that would only be an inconvenience." Kyouya replied. Admittedly, his friend's exuberance was a nice break from all the drama of last night and this morning. He would never say it aloud, but he needed people like Tamaki in his life.

His face fell, but just for a moment. "Well, I suppose her happiness will have to hold for a while, then. She'll probably remember my help just because it was _me_ doing it. And let's face it; I'm unforgettable." He grinned suavely at his friend, only half-serious.

"You truly are." Kyouya replied, in complete earnest for once. Those, whether or not that was a positive statement was a bit harder to discern.

Suddenly emotionally sober, Tamaki stopped him by the class room door. "Hey, Kyouya," he said, his tone more like the one he used outside of social gatherings, "Do you think Haruhi's been okay lately? She's been a bit off." He cocked his head, earnestly curious and worried.

While he couldn't deny that Haruhi was, indeed, 'off,' he could offer not explanation. "Symptoms point to a lack of sleep. Perhaps she is still adjusting to the club schedule."

Mellowed like he was, (at that instant), Tamaki looked a bit more...real as he frowned. "Should she cut back on her duties? We _could_ limit her days she stays with us." Even as he said the words, he wished there was some way he could restrict the moral inhibitors that were making him say them. Anything to keep his dear Haruhi nearby.

"There's no need for that." Kyouya replied. "I'm sure she wouldn't appreciate us cutting her hours. She'll adjust soon enough, I'm sure."

He relaxed. "If you think so, Kyouya. You're good at knowing what to do." Grinning, he slapped his friend's back once or twice and suggested they get into class. "Before we're technically late,"

Kyouya agreed, although couldn't help but feel he'd already made the same suggestion. He made a mental note to have something delivered for Haruhi before club activities started. No need to add malnutrition on top of insomnia.

During her penultimate period, Haruhi's stomach was growling so loud Hikaru asked her if she'd eaten a live bear. It wasn't helping that in history class they were going over what the Roman culture ate, and in social studies they were studying the food of Europe. With every new picture of food she came across, her mouth watered a bit more.

So it was a nice surprise when a delivery man came between periods with a bento box for her. "I didn't order this," She said, trying not to salivate at the food that looked so delicious but whattheheckiswrongwithmeit'snotmine!

"Someone named Ootori had it sent. Enjoy!" The delivery boy smiled and left her along with the box. She devoured the first few bites then quickly sent Senpai a thank you text.

It felt like such a normal, teenager thing to get a little rush to receive a text from a girl. But he didn't let it distract him from his duties. It was about time to start setting up the club room, after all.

Haruhi was determined not to mess up the cosplay today. So when she entered the club room, she marched directly to Senpai and said, "I'm here, Senpai. What costume do I have today?"

"Well, you seem eager today." Kyouya continued to scribble in his notebook. "You'll have to talk to the king about that, I'm afraid."

She lost a bit of the resolve, with that, but still. _I wanted to make Senpai happy, right?_ "Alright, I'll go ask him."

She was so difficult to read.

Kaoru was already dressed to the nines in some military-inspired attire. He slung an arm around Haruhi's shoulder. "Hey!" He greeted, practically dragging her away from Kyouya.

"Uh, hi." She tried to stop focusing on Senpai; instead she glanced at Kaoru's outfit. "Military? That's the cosplay for today?"

Hikaru jumped out of one of the fitting rooms, wearing his own uniform already. "Yup! Look, we've got one for you, too!" He slid the curtain open of the last room to reveal a German-style woman's uniform.

She rolled her eyes. All these short skirts certainly wouldn't show off her gender. Whatever.

"Hope ya' shaved your legs today!" Kaoru patted her head playfully. He glanced back at Kyouya briefly, before lowering his voice. "Hey. Have you noticed Kyouya-senpai acting weird lately?"

Haruhi raised an eyebrow, plopping down on the bench. "Weird?" She repeated, her voice the same level as normal, "How do you mean?" She barely knew what he was _supposed_ to be like. She began to pull off her shoes and socks.

Hikaru leaned up against the door frame. Crossing his arms, he said, "You haven't noticed anything at _all_?"

"That's funny." Kaoru continued, mirroring his twin on the opposite door frame. "We thought it had something to do with you."

Haruhi worked at her coat buttons. "With me? I don't know what you're talking about." _Was_ Senpai acting strange? "Give me an example."

"Well, he was late for school today." Kaoru contemplated. "Kyouya-senpai is _never_ late. And then there was lunch today..."

Hikaru cocked his head, waggling his finger a bit in the air. "When the Boss spilled that pot of noodles all over himself, Kyouya-Senpai didn't even make the call for a uniform until_ after_ the Boss started crying so loud the chairman was called."

Haruhi rolled her eyes. "Maybe he overslept. It can happen to anyone, right?"

"Not Kyouya-senpai." Kaoru shook his head. "Nah, something's up." And she was acting very suspicious in his mind.

She stood up, stripped down as much as she could before they had to _leave_. "Look, I don't know. I haven't noticed anything. I need to change; please leave." She glared pointedly at them, feeling a bit empowered that they _had_ to listen to her.

Kaoru put up his hands in a defensive posture. "Alright, alright!" He backed out of the room. Girls are so pushy. He looked to his brother. "What do you think?"

The curtain shut in their faces. He shrugged. "I think we're right," he slung his arm around Kaoru, walking them both away from Haruhi's ear-shot. "And I think it has something to do with her. But I don't know how to find out exactly what's going on. Any ideas?"

"Do you think Kyouya's taking advantage of her debt?" Kaoru asked. It was an odd thought, but then, they didn't call him 'The Shadow King' for nothing.

Hikaru cocked his head. You know, he sure wouldn't put something that low past his Senpai. "He might be. What do you think he's doing?" He raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "You don't think he's making her do... dirty things, do you?"

Kaoru stole a quick look in Kyouya's direction. He had to have SOME kind of human vice. Maybe this was it? "Do you think we should do something?"

Hikaru shrugged. "He's been really serious about us not getting involved. Which kinda makes me want to." He grinned. "But I've got nothing' in the way of ideas. You got anything?"

Kaoru had similar feelings on the situation. Haruhi wasn't budging on the situation, and Kyouya wasn't going to say anything. But then. There was one person who could make anyone talk. "Maybe we should... Tell the boss?"  
>Actually... that might work. "The Boss wouldn't waste any time getting down to it, that's for sure. But he blabs <em>everything<em>. D'ya think he'd say we told him? 'Cause we'd be in huuuge trouble if Kyouya ever tracked it back to us."

"I got an idea." He whipped out his cell. "I'll leave him an anonymous message on the club forums."

Hikaru grinned. "And that," he said, purring in Kaoru's ear, "Is why you're _my _brother. This might actually work!"

"I hope so." Kaoru whispered back. He also severely hoped that he was wrong about this whole thing. A few strokes of his thumb, and the message was out. He wondered just how often the boss checked his messages.

Haruhi tried straightening the skirt again. Dang it, why did _she_ have to wear the girl's uniform? All the guests thought she was a boy anyway, and Kaoru was okay playing the girl to Hikaru's guy every once in a while.

Yet here she was, trying to pull the skirt far enough down to preserve modesty when she sat down. She rolled her eyes. If she had any control of what Tamaki-Senpai did, he would be so _dead_. Instead, she just sighed and exited the changing room.

The rustling of the curtain must have caught the Master's attention. He looked up from his clipboard, sparing a glance in her direction. She really did clean up nicely. He kept his eyes on his clipboard as he passed her to change into his own costume.

Kaoru decided to just play things casual today and see what happened. After all, if this whole thing turned out to be a silly assumption, he didn't want anyone to think he was a part of it.

She went to set up her table annoyed at herself for being the bit disheartened that she was. Why did it matter so much that Master didn't seem to notice her? It really was a good thing; the less he cared for her the less chance there was of any random incident occurring. Still, it was a bit strange to think that, as the possession of someone else, he didn't seem to care for her appearance that much. She rolled her eyes. It was all stupid, really.

Oh, he was so very far from not caring. However, she was not to be treated as an object, or even a woman in a professional setting such as this. He tried to keep this in mind throughout the club activities.

It wasn't until he'd waved his last princess goodbye that Tamaki got back to his phone. He sighed and toppled to the large couch, putting off his cleaning off for a bit so he could answer his (many) texts. He sighed, scrolling through them. None looked very interesting, or out of the norm for an average day. His usual routine took his through his social medias, then onto the club's website. (Graciously coded by Kyouya and...decorated, (for lack of a better word), by the twins) Only one update on the homepage since he'd been there last, so he skipped reading it in favor of the forums. Suddenly, his eyes grew wide and he jumped up in a fit of rage. "KYOUYA!"

Kaoru took his brother's arm. "Hey, we gotta go to that party, remember?" He tugged urgently at him. "Let's hurry up."

Kyouya looked up from his meticulous tablecloth folding. Well, this was uncommon. Maybe he'd heard about his plans to cut back on club expenses. Sigh. "What is it?"

Hikaru grabbed desperately at his backpack and waved a hasty goodbye to the club as they hurried out.

Tamaki stormed over to his friend, waving his phone around haphazardly. "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS? Someone has had the NERVE to suggest you've been exploiting our dear daughter's debt, Kyouya! Have you ever heard such GARBAGE?"

Haruhi looked up, tugging on her skirt from muscle memory by this point. Someone said what? She almost smirked. It was so close to the truth, but not /quite/, giving Senpai a loophole to work with. She could almost predict how the rest of the conversation was going to go,.

His muscles stiffened under his close-fit uniform. 'Who' indeed. He would most certainly find out later. "Hm. I didn't think we had trolls in our forums. Must be a love rival of yours." He continued folding his tablecloth, the lie coming as naturally as breathing.

Tamaki stopped for a moment. "Why would they say something like that? No can rival ~me~!" He posed for a moment, letting his beauty sink in before continuing. "You don't think someone is trying to set you up, do you Kyouya?" His face took the worried look. It really didn't occur to him that the post could be true, in any case.

"Perhaps." Kyouya replied. "I think we can consider the plan a painful failure." He boxed up all of his decorations and such, more than ready to leave this conversation at that.

Tamaki 'hmm'ed' and nodded, sashaying back to his table to collect his things. (Even though nothing was properly clean yet) Haruhi had yet to change, but it seemed like Senpai was lolling a bit, too. "That was a close one," she murmured when Tamaki was far enough from them.

"Yes. Luckily for us, Tamaki doesn't have a suspicious bone in his body." Kyouya replied in a low, if not hushed tone. "It seems someone, or a couple of someones, are getting suspicious."

Haruhi raised her eyebrows. "It sounds as if you already have a suspicion?"

"Perhaps." He replied cryptically. "But I'd rather keep that to myself until I know for sure." Those devil spawn were dead. "I'll take care of everything."

"Alright," she said, glad to be on this side of his anger. She wasn't sure what to do from here. Senpai was still in his uniform, and, except Tamaki-Senpai, everyone else was gone. She wiggled in the tight skirt again.

How distracting. "Well, hurry up and get changed." He waved her off. "You've got homework to get done." He made his way to his own changing booth, putting certain thoughts out of his mind.

She nodded, watching him disappear before beginning to make her way to her own clothes, too. Tamaki-Senpai stepped in front of her before she made it in, though, wearing his own bag and face full of innocence.

"Haruhi," he said excitedly, "Why don't I give you a ride home today? I've seen you leave with Kyouya sometimes, but today looks like rain and, between you and me, seeing you both together outside of school would probably be a bad thing." He whispered the last part conspiratorially.

Kyouya heard parts of the conversation from his dressing room. Admittedly, a small pang of jealousy welled up in him. He crushed it like most of his other emotions. No, it was better if she spent some time with the other hosts from time to time (barring those awful twins.) It took some of the focus off of him, and helped expand Haruhi's world a little.

Haruhi paused, wondering what Senpai would say. "That's really kind, Tamaki-Senpai, but... well, to be honest I needed some help with my homework and Kyouya-Senpai had promised to give me a hand."

Tamaki's face had fallen and lit back up just as quickly. "That's easy! I'm sure he wouldn't mind letting me help you instead! Besides, I've gotten first in our classes over Kyouya lots of times."

'Lots' was a bit of an overstatement, but Kyouya was willing to let it slide, lest he look like the eavesdropper he was. He tied his tie, and stepped out of the booth.

Haruhi looked to him. She didn't, technically, have opinions, (about anything), so she just said, "What do you think, Senpai?"

"This is your decision, Haruhi." He couldn't very well give her orders out in front of Tamaki like this, after all. Part of him also wanted to encourage her to make a few choices of her own. Small ones, at least. He gathered up his books as he awaited her ruling.

She was a bit light-headed at the thought. She could decide... on her own? No orders? No 'suggestions'? No "I'll beat it out of you later"'s? So after a heartbeat, she smiled up at Tamaki and said, "That would be great, Tamaki-Senpai. Thank you so much." Still, she had to sneak a little glance at Master to make sure he hadn't been joking.

That highly inconvenient light glinting off of his glasses hid whatever thoughts he might have had on the situation. Good. This was a good thing. Then why did he hate the idea so much? "Very well. I'll see you two tomorrow." He said tersely, making his way out. At least it was Tamaki, of all people. The one person he felt he could almost trust with her.

Tamaki turned to her, grinning from ear to ear. "Great! My car's waiting outside; do you need a hand?" He motioned to her bag.

"No thanks Senpai, I have it." A car ride already felt like to much to ask for. She was going to have to get used to it one day (or maybe not.) She lifted her bag, somewhat heavy with all the books and paperwork. "I'm ready."

He flitted around her nervously as they walked, as if she was suddenly made of glass. Something about her being with _only_ him made him very protective, and he was certainly not going to let anything happen /now/, of all times. "Are you alright? Feeling dizzy? Is your arm sore? Your books are probably really heavy, I'm sorry, let me help you!"

"It's fine, Senpai!" She replied, holding tighter to her bag. This man almost as confusing as her Master. He seemed so... Genuine. "It's not really that heavy."

He took some deep breaths, nodding a few times and trying to content himself with just walked next to her. "Alright, if you're sure." He flipped his hair gracefully out of his face. "How was school today for you?"

Well, it was definitely interesting. Somewhat nerve wracking, at points, to be honest. "It was fine." She replied. Her manners were slowly coming back to her. "And you?"

He blushed for no reason. "It was-fine." His voice felt a bit strained under the pressure of talking to her. Why was it so different with her than any of his princesses from the club? "I got back my period report from first period History, and did better than I had expected, so that's good." They arrived at the car, and Tamaki jumped at the chance to open the door instead of his driver for Haruhi.

Woah. He got the door. Not the chauffeur, the man paid to do this, but he did it. Himself. For her. What strange fantasy world was she living in all of the sudden? She paused a minute. Maybe he was just opening it for himself? No, didn't look that way. "Um, thank you, Senpai." She began to slide into the car.

He thanked his driver and slid in after her, wishing he could have carried her on a cloud inside the car instead. "So," He said after settling in, "Should we take you to your apartment first, or would you rather study at my house?" He colored. "It's nothing like Kyouya's house, if that's what you're used to."

Wow. She'd never put much thought into what Tamaki-senpai's house would be like. She was a little curious, now. But now she was getting a bit presumptuous. "Uh, well, my apartment isn't really much to look at. It's up to you, I guess."

He was desperately trying to calculate exactly what would make Haruhi most comfortable, and coming up short. He bowed his head dramatically, putting his hand up like a shield, "My own decision would never be able to make you happy, my darling-Haruhi," He had been going to say 'darling daughter', but something about calling her that in private was a bit off-putting, His eyes sprang up, hands clasped together hopefully, "If you would like to study at my house, we can always have food made! Anything you'd like! And there would be as much tea as you want!"

Haruhi snorted. Why was he trying so hard to please her? Not like she could say any different... (What orders was she following, anyway? Senpai!) "Your house is fine, Tamaki-Senpai. As long as I can get home to make my father dinner, whatever is fine."

He was so flooded with joy at the idea of Haruhi coming to his place that he may have bounced just a tad, with a small cheer. "Of course, Haruhi! Anything you like!" He smiled ear to ear. He placed his fists on his knees and gave about a two second pause before blurting out another exclamation. "OH!" He whipped his head in her direction so fast he nearly suffered whip-lash. "Why don't I have my chef prepare something to send home to your father?"

Actually, that would make things much less complicated. "Yeah, that would be wonderful!" She frowned suddenly. "As long as that's no inconvenience. I don't want to bother your cook if they have to make a big meal for everyone."

"Nonsense! He's supposed to cook! That's why chefs are born!" He waved a finger as he spoke. "You know, no family gets rich from earning the minimum wage. In fact, the current minimum wage does not even lift a family out of poverty! So if he didn't do his job he couldn't earn that money. So he'd be SO happy to make something for you, Haruhi." He ended the sentence with a tiny tap of his waving finger on her cute little nose. Of course, he'd done that out of habit with how he was used to treating the ladies at the host club. The action however, had strong reprecutions, as it sent a great electric heat shooting up his arm and he quickly retracted the limb and pinned it down in his lap, nervously.

Kyouya used his extra free time to iron out the new expense plan for the year in the car. He thought it might take his mind off of things for a while, but instead he found himself unable to concentrate. It wasn't that he didn't trust his friend with his property. It was more that, well, he was careless sometimes. And Haruhi needed a lot of care at this point.

Haruhi froze. What did Senpai expect her to put up with? Were the orders to treat Tamaki as she'd treat him? Certainly a nose-tap was acceptable either way? (With Kyouya, it seemed reasonable, though past masters hadn't been so free with her) "Alright," she amended. "As long as you're sure." Quietly, she pulled out her phone to text Senpai about the restrictions... errors weren't tolerated, she knew that for sure.

Tamaki began to wonder who it was she was texting. Maybe family? Friends? A significant other? It was none of his business, he was a gentleman! And as such, he did NOT pry into the lives of young ladies. No sir-ee. That there was bad boy behavior. Though it was killing him the more he thought. Maybe he could sneak an answer out of her. "So... you like to... text?"

Kyouya was quick to answer his phone. Was there some catastrophe already? Ah, no, just a simple question. Good. The car ride was going smoothly, at least. He sent her a simple response. 'At your discretion.'

She read the text and heard Tamaki-Senpai out of one ear. "Hm? Oh, I suppose." She hadn't really thought of texting too extensively, in any case. "I do when I need to, I guess." Quickly, she tapped out a reply; _Thanks...I'll do my best?_ Looking up at Tamaki, she gave a little grin. "Why, do you?"

He blushed and looked away, twiddling his thumbs. "I do text!" Her grin was so cute! He stared at the back of the driver's head. "Yes. I mean, if it was you, I would love it."

She raised an eyebrow. This _was_ Hikaru's phone, so she did have Tamaki-Senpai's number. "A text from me? Uh, sure. I suppose." She typed a quick 'hello' and pressed 'send'. "There."

His eyes lit up. "You... you know my number?" He jumped when he got the text from Haruhi and quickly checked it. "Ah! Hello Haruhi!" He smiled as he quickly typed back a simple "Hello! キタ━━━(゜∀゜)━━━! "

'See to it that you do.' Kyouya responded. Briefly, he entertained the idea of adding some letter of encouragement. Such silly thoughts passed his mind from time to time. He sent the text unadorned with such frivolity.

She snorted. Yep, that seemed quite standard from all the texts she'd watched Senpai answer from the blonde king. Where was Tamaki-Senpai's house, anyway? It seemed much farther away than the Ootori mansion. Her phone lit up. She opened the text quickly, her heart speeding up, than sighed with the pang of disappointment with the crisp, short order. What _had_ she been expecting, though?

Of course as this thought had passed Haruhi's mind, the car came to a slow and steady turn up a long cement driveway with a gate. After buzzing in they came towards the garage, which in it's self was bigger than a common person's own home. "We're here! Haruhi, let me get your door for you!" He quickly flung his own open, nearly slinging the offensively large metal slab into his poor chauffeur.

He skidded around the back of the car and in a much more collected manner opened the door for Haruhi, offering her his hand to help her out.

She frowned and colored slightly. "This really isn't necessary, Senpai." Still, she felt it rude to ignore the hand, and accepted it to step out of the car. She didn't quite think about how, up until now, had only referred to Senpai as, well, Senpai.

He helped her out, and scratched the back of his head with his opposite hand. "Ah! I'm sorry. You-you're probably a very independent young woman, aren't you?" He felt as though he'd done something wrong. "It's just that, I- I respect you a lot Haruhi." His cheeks began the glow a bright red.

Respect? _Respect?_ She could freely admit that THAT wasn't something that had ever been tossed her way before, except maybe jokingly during... well, yeah. "We should... get to our homework, yeah?" She tried to keep her head down far enough to hide the hot blush across her face.

By the time his chauffeur opened the door, Kyouya realized he'd been staring blankly at his spreadsheet for almost the whole ride, baring the texts. He was paying entirely to much attention to this whole ordeal. He climbed out of the car, rubbing his face, Maybe it was the lack of sleep last night starting to get to him. That must be it. He needed another coffee.

Tamaki nodded. "Okay! let's go in then." He lead the way. "Follow me! We can go to the study, and I'll have my family's chef make something really good!" He opened the door for her and ushered her in.

As soon as Tamaki's back was to her, she whipped out her cell phone and madly typed a text to Senpai. _Tamaki-Senpai just said that he respected me! What does that mean? _As she pressed 'send', she wondered if that was something you were supposed to discuss with your owner...oh well. She stepped in the house after Tamaki had, and looked up to find a chorus of friendly servants greeting her.

Again, he rushed to check the message as soon it chimed at him. 'Respect,' eh? Interesting. From a completely non-biased point of view. He supposed this was a good thing. Then why did he feel so off-put by it?

'It means I don't have to worry about him.'

Tamaki continued to babble, even through greeting each of his servants. As soon as he reached the end of the stream of greetings, he turned around. "Everyone, this is Haruhi! Please treat our guests with all the kindness I know you are capable of." He smiled. "Ah, and Haruhi, is there anything you would prefer to eat?"

She was a bit star-struck as she saw all the smiling faces. Even at Kyouya's house with the very congenial staff, they didn't seem as truly happy as these people did. She couldn't help but smile back a bit at all of them and trot to catch up with Tamaki. Her stomach growled loudly. Ah, yes. The lunch fiasco. "Not soup, if you please. Anything else would be fine."

Tamaki's heart stopped a second after the mentioning of soup, and instantly he felt guilt struck. "A-ah... Of course." He looked tot he chef. "We'd love to enjoy some traditional Japanese food! Maybe some tamago, beef tempura, ootoro, and sashimi? We'll take it in the study, if you please!" He suggested and the chef nodded and quickly went tot he kitchen to make his young master and his guest a meal. He continued to lead her to the study room.

Haruhi's eyes lit up. "Ootoro?" She salivated. "Ootoro. Um, if that's alright." What if he said no? Oh, ootoro needed to happen.

He called after his chef enthusiastically. "Bring lots of ootoro, please!" He then lead her off to the study, which was down a long corridor and somewhere on the left. He opened the double doors and there in front was a rather large and extravagant room. "Here we are!"

She glanced down the hall. When, exactly was the ootoro going to get here? She wanted to ask so _badly_, but didn't think it would be very polite, at the very least. Grudgingly, she turned to the office and let herself be impressed. "Wow, Senpai. This is amazing. Where should I-where should we work?"

He paused. "You really think so? I always thought this room was a little small..." He paused. "BUT I am glad you like it!" He planted his fists on hips. "Where would you _like_ to work, Haruhi? There is the desk, the coffee table... Anywhere physics will allow!" He smiled.

She smiled, gratefully quipping, "Well, I don't have physics this year," (Word puns!) "How about the desk? That seems most logical."

He paused and then burst out laughing at her joke. "Haruhi! You're so funny!" He wiped tears for his eyes with a hankie he had stored in his pocket. "Ohh, the desk. Perfect! I haven't studied there in a long time!"

When did homework become such a difficult chore? He couldn't just leave it for later, not after being late for _two_ classes. No, he would just have to find a way to focus. He propped his book up a few inches from his face, attempting to close out all other stimuli. Even so, he found himself peering over the edge of his book, at his phone.

This was getting silly

He was so easy to please. "Well, it _is_ a desk, after all. You're so weird."

The time passed quickly until dinner arrived, leaving Haruhi salivating buckets as it entered the room. She felt bad about the school book left under her drool, really.

Tamaki thanked the butler which brought the meal, and he readjusted himself from his studying position, which made him look very uncomfortable. "Go ahead, you take the first bite." He leaned forwards, resting his chin in his palms as he anticipated her enjoyment.

He hadn't heard from her in a while. Maybe he should call her. But, then again, how would that look? Keeping tabs on her like that was definitely considered sketchy behavior. No, he should just sit back and put it out of his mind.

He shoved all of his work into his school bag and was out the door, signaling for his driver to warm up the car.

It felt strange having a boy watch you eat. But not especially, because ohmygoshthisootorowassoGOOD. She moaned quietly in bliss. Considering this was her first bite of food since early this morning, she was entitled, yeah? "So-" She croaked, "GOOD."

Tamaki melted at her pleasure. This only made him want to make her happy every day now. "Ah! I am glad you like it Haruhi! I'll send some home with you!" He then popped a tamago sushi roll into his mouth.

"H-" Her mouth was full to overflowing with the goodness, "Home?" _Back to Senpai's house?_ Wait, no. She lived with Dad again, oh right. "Thank you-mmfaki-Senpai."

Even as Kyouya sat in the backseat, on his way to Tamaki's house, he felt stupid. What was he expecting, exactly? That this 'respect' would flourish into some sort of perverse and desperate attraction? That Haurhi wouldn't think to say 'no' to someone other than her master? Ridiculous. Even so, he couldn't bring himself to go back home until he knew for sure.

The two sat eating together, Tamaki making sure at almost every bite it was still as good as the last. "Haruhi, you've never had ootoro before have you?" he questioned. It was strange that some one related to Kyouya had not had such a simple food item before.

She shook her head, mouth still mostly full. "I've-uh-seen it before. And it always looked really good." She looked wistfully at the last couple pieces, wondering how much more she could eat without being rude.

Tamaki had long since stopped eating his food, simply because he was too happy to see her eating, and perhaps because he was far to distracted to mind his stomach. "That's so strange!" He gasped. "I would have thought something so simple would have been offered to you long before now!"

Kyouya was rarely very thankful for the fact that he and Tamaki lived in the same neighborhood. It was always a bit problematic, to be honest, what with Tamaki's especially 'energetic' moods where he would simply walk over and start bugging him in the middle of just about anything (including a shower, on one occasion.) However, he was almost thankful for it now, as his chauffeur pulled up to the front entrance.

She shrugged vaguely and decided _one_ more piece couldn't hurt, (right?), and swallowed happily. "Thank you, Tamaki-Senpai. That was delicious."

"Of course!" He cheered. "M-maybe you could come over again sometime and have it again?" He offered almost bashfully.

Was this part of this new test from Senpai? She shrugged again, noncommittally. "I'd like that. And I've gotten a lot of homework done, too!" If it was part of the test, she couldn't see how _that_ answer would be incriminating in any way.

Kyouya strutted past the servants. They found it quite odd that he should be here, as he seemed to avoid it when he could. He made his way up the stairs. He thought about knocking, but only after he'd thrown the door open like an angry bomb squad.

His eye's sparkled. "Real-" He was interrupted by Kyouya throwing the door open. "Ah! KYOUYA!" He jumped up from his seat. "What are you doing here? You never visit!"

Haruhi looked up, suddenly tense. When she saw who it was, it only added to the feeling of severe _wrongness_ about being here in the first place. And eating the Motorola! Oh, maybe that was off-limits? She jumped up, head down, and began gathering her things. Obviously, if he was angry enough to storm in here, he was coming to collect her, and she didn't want to make him wait any longer than necessary.

Ah. Well, nothing to see here, he supposed. This was awkward. At least he was a good liar. "Tamaki. I've been working on our budget for the year, and there are some important matters we need to discuss." It was half true, at least. He glanced at Haruhi. Oh, he'd gone and startled her again. He really needed to work on that

Head still down, her brow furrowed in confusion. Was he still taking her with him? She shivered a bit. She'd rather go now when he didn't seem to be completely enraged than later when it got worse. So she stayed where she was, trying not to melt under the pressure of not knowing what to expect next.

After a second's hesitation he nodded. "Well okay! If you say so." He blinked in confusion. It must have been VERY important. Kyouya always knocked. "What is it?"

Oh, right, that. "I'm afraid we might not be able to import the carriage for the festival at the end of the year." He'd been meaning to bring that up, anyways. He was sure Tamaki felt adequately strongly about it. Maybe?

Tamaki's face fell. "WHAT?" He took a dramatic dive for Kyouya's shoulders. "Kyouya, how could we loose the carriage!"

"I'm terribly sorry." Kyouya pushed his glasses further up his nose. "Perhaps we can find a cheaper alternative?"

"Okay..." He sounded much like a dejected child when he accepted. "What else might we use?"

"Perhaps we can rent one locally." He looked to Haruhi before Tamaki had a chance to argue. "Would you like a ride home?"

She nodded but didn't look up. Vaguely in his direction, she called a little, "Thank you," to Tamaki and let Senpai lead her out. His hand on her back wasn't reassuring in the least at this point.

Tamaki watched the two of them, oblivious. "Ah? O-oh Haruhi! Don't forget the ootoro! I'll get it from the chef on our way out!" He walked along with them down the steps.

That man just didn't know when to let it go did he? Well, it was his house after all. He remained silent as the two finished up their tender goodbyes that made him bristle for reasons who could not adequately explain

Haruhi smiled at the ootoro, even though she suspected it would be confiscated in the car for reasons relating to various disobedience. "Thank you, Tamaki-Senpai. I had fun." She felt Kyouya motion to lead her out and followed him quickly, jogging a bit to keep up with his strides.

Tamaki kept along side the two with graceful strides. "I did too." He smiled sincerely. "Thank you for studying with me." They passed the kitchen as they walked along, and Tamaki quickly poked it to retrieve ootoro for Haruhi, and handed it to her. It was neatly wrapped and packaged for her to take home.

Well, at least she seemed happy. That was good. After all, he wanted her to be happy.

Wait, where did that come from?

She waited at the car door numbly, wincing every time Senpai got too close. Why didn't he just say something? This silence was driving her mad! He certainly wouldn't just come to Tamaki's house, burst in the room they were studying in, and have almost nothing of value to say. Haruhi knew perfectly well that the carriage had been on his mind for a while; and he'd had plenty of opportunities to talk to Tamaki-Senpai, and he would definitely have plenty more before it came time to find something else suitable. She shivered. He needed to say something _now._

"I'll see you at school tomorrow." Kyouya said coolly as he slid into the car. He'd had quite enough of that, thank you very much. He glanced at Haruhi, hoping that that was enough encouragement to hurry her along.

"Bye Kyouya! Bye Haruhi!" He waved at the two, wishing he could have kept her for a _little_ longer.

* * *

><p>NOTES: Obviously, this is slightly different from the rest of the story. This is a role play my best friend and I started in the same story line, but not in the exact same event order. Lots more to come of this if you guys like it! Love and kisses!<p> 


	16. Faint

She stared, wondering if he was talking to her? Should she walk home? No, no. He was talking to Tamaki. She woodenly sat down on the seat next to him and let the chauffeur close the door. Staring at her lap, she balled her fists and croaked, "Sorry."

A small part of him felt terrible. But that emotion didn't suit him very well. He pushed it aside with the rest of his baggage. "Did you get your homework done?"

She blinked, shaking her head a bit. What? "Um, yes." Then she added quietly, "Suoh-san is a good teacher."

"I'm glad to hear it." He replied. He wondered if this would be an appropriate time for a normal person to apologize. Not that he had any intention of doing so. "Good work."

"Thank... you?" Her fists shook in her lap. "Aren't you angry?"

"And why should I be angry?" He asked. He saw no reason why she should know about his odd near-breakdown from a few minutes ago. It wasn't really important, nor was it her business

She gaped for a moment. Why _should_ he be angry? He'd given her his blessing to be at Tamaki-Senpai's house, hadn't he? But why had he been so passionate about the carriage? "I just..." she swallowed, looking over to him, "don't want to displease you."

"You've done nothing worth my anger thus far." He replied.

"Thus far." She meant to say it to herself, to repeat the cryptic words, but they ended up coming out more like a threat.

There was just no winning with this girl. He decided to leave it at that. He supposed it was fine if she were just slightly intimidated by him.

At his non-reaction, Haruhi tried to chase herself back into her own thoughts. "Well," she ventured, "What did Tamaki do worth your anger just now?"

He often forgot how perceptive she could be. "It's nothing of your concern." He replied.

She watched his slight head-turn with a bit of annoyance. "I know it's none of my concern, _master_," she was slowly progressing from fear to irritation, "but whether I like it or not, I am _very_ involved in your life now. Wouldn't it be best to confide your feelings with someone, and wouldn't the best choice be someone who is legally obligated to fulfill your every whim?"

She did make a _very _good point. And, perhaps there was some benefit to indulging in ones own emotions. But even so, the thought of explaining that convoluted thought process of his was almost embarrassing enough without acting on it. "While I appreciate the offer, I don't think so."

She 'hhmph'ed a bit before crossing her arms and turning to watch out the window. "For someone so interested in utilizing your assets so completely, it baffles me why you have yet to tap into any of my abilities even slightly."

"I've simply got much more important things to do." He replied. None of her 'abilities' were of much use to him, aside from a few less-than-savory ones, which NO, she is officially off limits.

She was disgusted. This whole night had been a set up to cause her the highest levels of discomfort and confusion. Square in the eye, she remarked. "Well you seem to have wasted a good 8 million yen then, haven't you? Not to mention my school tuition and the money you've been giving to my father for me."

"I'll only consider it a waste," He began, just a small hint of rage touching his voice. "If you insist on making me regret it."

"So, pointing out a seemingly wasted resource you spent quite a bit of money on is worth your anger? That's what you said earlier, isn't it? I hadn't done anything worth your anger?" She pursed her lips and wrinkled her nose a bit. "Showing a financial loss?"

Was she trying to make him angry now? What could she possibly have to gain from that? "What I do with my resources is my decision, and mine alone. I don't have any reason to explain myself to you!" His rose his voice. Not by much. Just a few decibels. More than he was used to

She was at the end of her emotional rope. "I just need to know why you bought me!" The first in a wave of tears slipped from her eyes, making it difficult to focus on anything other than blurry shapes. Desperately, she wiped at her face with her sleeve than stopped; that sleeve was technically his, too.

Oh. Oh dear. Crying woman. No man on Earth knew how to deal with a crying woman, particularly a man whose only experience with women was his sister. Would telling her make her stop? Why had he bought her? What would be an in character thing to say?

"I thought you might be of use to me in one way or another."

For some reason, this only made her cry harder. She looked around confusedly, trying to figure out what to do with the tears and snot; some of the only things in that car that _were _hers. "You could have sold me to someone else for a profit, or-or-or, rented me out, ooor-" she hiccuped, "put me to work in the house. Why are you being so nice? It's unnatural!"

That was just the thing. It _was_ unnatural for him. It was such a human thing to do. To help someone without any reasonable benefits in the foreseeable future. He gritted his teeth. He just couldn't come out and say it. 'I don't know' were words foreign to him.

"Are you unhappy with my treatment of you thus far?"

She frowned, looking at him, tears and all. "No, of course not. You're one of the best people I've ever met."

"No, I-" He stopped himself. He really wasn't. He took a deep, centering breath (a technique he'd mastered since meeting Tamaki.) "Then why. Should it matter?"

"I guess it shouldn't, really." She looked at his hand fleetingly, like she wanted him to take her own. "I've just been through betrayals before, and if you wanted to break me, Senpai, there probably wouldn't be a better time. So please, just get on with it if you're going to. I can't handle this waiting game."

"It was never my intention to break you." He said, his voice returning to a lower level, almost soothing if not for the formal tone. "_That_ would be a waste of resources."

Even though it could be part of his trick, hearing him say the words was a bit reassuring. "Senpai, I'm eons away from paying off my debt. You realize that, right? Even if I have a full table every day for the rest of my high school career, I won't even be close."

"I'm sure we'll figure something out." He responded. After all, she was going to be a very talented lawyer one day. That's always a useful asset. Yes, that's it.

She glanced at his hand again. Every little movement of his was perfectly locked into her memory. "Senpai, I can't sleep alone anymore. After last night, I performed about 37% better at my duties, barring my lack of food related energy." She was snuffing up her crying, switching into business mode. "It would benefit me, and in turn you, if I didn't spend nights alone anymore."

Kyouya paused. Well, business talk was certainly much easier for him than crying woman, but he couldn't help he was missing an important opportunity. "And just what are you suggesting?"

She breathed in, gathering her thoughts. "That we spend nights together. Of course, sexual activity would be decided by the one in charge, and as my benefactor that would be you. I would be able to immerse myself in the duties you require from me during more thoroughly if we went through with this kind of arrangement."

She certainly wasn't making this whole 'no touching' thing easy on him. Could he trust himself in her bed like that? Every night? What's more, couldn't this just be a manifestation of nymphomania as a result of sexual trauma?

But then, she seemed to be doing so much better today. And there was no denying that he almost felt good about it last night, in a way. He rubbed at his forehead.

"Perhaps we should discuss this with your father before coming to any decisions."

She didn't like that. Her father had had no say in her life since she was really young; the logical question her mind brought up was why start now? But, she'd already argued enough tonight. "I need to give him some of this food Suoh-san's cook sent for us, anyway. If you meant you wanted to talk to him now?"

He really didn't. This wasn't a subject he wanted to touch with a ten foot pole, but... It was obviously very important to Haruhi. And he couldn't have her losing sleep and letting her grades suffer. He just couldn't justify sponsoring a failing student. "I suppose now would be the most efficient use of my time."

She sighed happily and settled back in her seat for the first time during the whole ride. "Thank you." She turned her big, brown eyes to him contentedly. "I appreciate it."

"I should hope." He muttered, letting his head rest against the window. All of this on five hours of sleep. He thought he was doing pretty good.

They arrived shortly after, and Haruhi waited until Kyouya was also out of the vehicle before following him up the stairs. She really wanted to know what his hands felt like. She watched them the whole way, wishing she had the guts to just reach out and take one... _I can only imagine that they're just like any other hands_, she reasoned, ignoring the voice in her head suggesting how strong, how smooth, how nicely her hand would fit instead it. She ran ahead when they reached the door to unlock it.

Kyouya adjusted his glasses. Fiyumi once suggested that this might be his one tic. His mind, not to keen on the task ahead, wandered off to the homework he'd left sitting on his desk. He really should have just stayed home.

"Dad! Kyouya-Senpai's here!" Haruhi took off her shoes, but did little else to indicate she was staying for very long.

Ranka peeked out of his room sleepily. "Hullo," he said, his voice cracking as if he'd been sleeping for a long time. "Did you bring me food?"

"I do apologize if we woke you, Ranka-san." Kyouya also slipped out of his shoes. "We have indeed brought food."

Ranka smiled before burying his face back in the pillow. "Let me put on something decent and then I'll come out. Make yourself at home, Kyo-chan!" The door slid shut.

Haruhi took the food to the counter, then looked at Kyouya and smiled.

"Thank you, Ranka-san." Kyouya adjusted his glasses once more, though they seemed perfectly fine on his face. He caught her smile. It was somewhat jarring after he episode in the car, and yet so very charming. She really was a beautiful lady when she wanted to be.

If she'd heard his thoughts, it would have been quite a shock to hear 'lady' pointed at her. Since she hadn't, she simply held up the food, "Would you like some, Senpai? I've heard Tamaki-Senpai's chef is quite good."

Ah, come to think of it, he'd missed lunch, as well. He surveyed the contents of the box. "He is. Thank you."

Haruhi felt as if the tears had cleaned her, metaphorically of course. She smiled again and nodded, fixing all three of them plates and serving Senpai first. Ranka emerged a few minutes later, half made-up for work but still tired looking. "How are you kids tonight?" He asked, taking the plate graciously.

"Well enough." Kyouya replied. He glanced it Haruhi's direction. It would definitely sound much less sketchy coming from her.

She poked at her food; the ootoro earlier had curbed her appetite enough. "Dad," she began, "I need to move back to Senpai's house. Is that okay?" Blunt. As many things she did were.

Ranka raised an eyebrow before turning to Kyouya. "Does this have anything to do with what we discussed yesterday?"

Well, that was delicate. "Indeed. We've discussed it, and have found that it would be most beneficial for her to have someone around in as of another night terror." Kyouya casually continued, as if discussing his job over dinner. "Would would still see her during the day, of course."

Ranka laughed. "You know I trust you, Kyouya. As long as you still call me regularly with reports and we can still eat dinner together, anything else that happens is up to Haruhi." He turned to his daughter. "You trust him enough to do this?"

"Of course." He glanced in her direction once more. For whatever reason, she really did seem to trust him. He wasn't quite sure how to deal with this fact.

Haruhi cocked her head. "Trust him?" She considered this carefully. "As much as I've trusted anyone, I suppose."

Ah. Good enough, he supposed. Not great for instilling confidence in her father, but he seemed on board as it was. "She will be taken quite good care of."

Ranka flipped his hair. "If she's not, be sure I'll know." He sent a pointed look at the boy before going back to his dinner. "As it is, this will probably work out better since I can't be home at night. Even without the nightmares, I don't like you alone, Haruhi."

"I'm glad you agree." Kyouya took another bite. Well,this was much easier than he'd expected. Very nice, yes. Except he had no idea how to explain this to the house staff.

They finished quietly and Haruhi pulled together her things in only a few minutes. She stood in front of her father as they readied to leave, unsure of what to say. "Well, Dad...-"

He threw his arms around her, feeling her tense rigidly beneath him. "My darling. I'm sorry this is the way it has to be." He pulled away and looked at her, smiling. (_Kotoko.._.) "I'll see you tomorrow?"

She sniffed. "Yeah." Suddenly she looked up and hugged him quickly. "I love you, Dad."

Kyouya watched the heart-touching scene, feeling like he was intruding into a very normal life. He waited patiently, not sure how long moments like this were supposed to last.

She was quick to pull away though, having not properly initiated a hug in years, and turned to him. "I'm ready to go, Senpai."

"Very well." He turned to her father. "Goodnight, Ranka-san." He turned, more than ready to leave this emotional scene behind him.

Ranka sniffed. "Bye! Keep in touch!"

Haruhi had a bit more in her bag coming back to the car than she did leaving it. Once in she asked, "What are you going to tell everyone at your house?"

"Simply that you are my guest." He replied. "Under contract, they are not allowed to let anything out about the household. Have you got everything you'll need?"

Considering she had almost nothing to her name, yes. "Everything. Anyway Senpai, all of my things are what you've bought me since... you bought me."

Kyouya nodded. "Very well then." The chauffeur opened the door for them once more. "Let's go, then. I've still got some work to do, and it's getting late."

She followed him out of the car, trying not to let her hesitation show. Really, this should be a stupid plan. She'd been perfectly safe across town whenever her master's libido rose, and now she was going to right there, a resource so poorly underused, just as she herself had pointed out. All she knew was that, no matter how poorly planned this decision was, she'd slept last night. For the first night in... since she could remember, she hadn't fought her way through the night with endless nightmares. A night well spent could, apparently, change your day pretty drastically.

He noticed how nervous she suddenly seemed. Well, this was her idea to begin with. He put a small effort into easing her mind. "Now, as for sleeping arrangements." Kyouya folded his hands in his lap. "We have several guest rooms. There is also a couch in my room, if you prefer."

"The couch." The snap decision seemed the most reasonable, didn't it? She had hardly blinked before she'd realized how much she _didn't_ want to be far from Senpai. The guest bedrooms might be far away from his wing, and what would the use in that be? At least if she was in his room, she could still see him. Then she realized how rude she sounded. "If that's alright. I'd-uh- much prefer the floor, really." That kind of groveling was kind of second nature sometimes.

"I'm sorry, but no guest of the Ootori family will sleep on the floor." He said firmly. "The couch it is."

_I'm a guest._ She thought, smiling a little. "Okay." She'd never been through the house this way; it was a bit confusing. She'd have to learn the layout of the house later. "What time do you want to wake up in the morning?"

"I wake up at five-thirty." He said, as he located the door to his bedroom. "You're free to sleep in later, if you wish. Just be up in time to get ready for school."

Hm. She'd thought that waking him would at least be her responsibility. Since it wasn't, she nodded. "What else is there to know?"

He ran through the house rules quickly. He very much doubted she was in danger of violating many of them. "Only that you treat the rest of the family well, and if you need anything, ask one of the servants."

She'd kind of thought she would be put in at maid level, to be honest. (Even after everything they'd discussed) So 'ask one of the servants' seemed quite presumptuous. Whatever, she thought, nodding anyway.

She glanced around the room. "And anything specific you'd like me to stay away from in here?" She knew about the secret things previous masters had kept hidden in their rooms, and didn't want to find anything like _that_ out about Senpai.

Kyouya had many secrets, but none of them bore physical evidence if he could help it. "You are free to explore as you wish." He replied. "I do suggest you avoid getting into my father's business, however."

This was kind of a lot to take in. He gave her so many liberties it was hard to believe sometimes, (like her brain kept telling her; it had to be too good to be true). She sat down on the couch, testing it out with a hand. "Well, I don't want to distract you from your work." She smiled up at him. "I'll be very quiet."

"I would appreciate that." He sunk into his chair, eying the sprawl of textbooks and papers. "There are extra blankets and pillows in the closet." He motioned toward said closet.

She nodded, placing her bag neatly under the large couch, and crept over to the closet. When he said there were, 'extra', he meant, 'the whole closet was full of blankets and pillows.' Haruhi rolled her eyes, (what did he need all of those for?), and took what she needed back to the couch.

Having her here with him actually did wonders for his concentration. he didn't have to worry that she wasn't being treated well, or taking care of herself. Not that he worried about these things usually, mind you. Either way, having her close by was a comfort of sorts, and he made short work of his homework.

By the time he began cleaning up his papers, Haruhi had made up a bed, (of sorts), and changed, (in the bathroom), into pajamas. She'd repacked her satchel so that the non-school related things were under the couch, and it was ready for the morning, complete with finished homework. Now she was playing around on her phone, answering a few texts from Tamaki and Hikaru.

Kyouya watched her from the corner of his eye. She almost seemed like a normal teenager just now, spending the night at her boyfr- Well, normal enough.

He stood, stretching out his back, going to get changed himself. This would be an interesting night.

She looked up as he passed her. He really was a very respectable-looking guy; it was completely understandable that he'd been chosen for a host club, (of all things). The thought surprised her though, benign as it was. Since when did she start to care about what people looked like? She squeezed her eyes shut, immediately seeing Arai-sama's smile and the feeling she'd gotten that day on the picnic. Maybe that's what it was; she was glad that Senpai was good-looking so he could find someone to love because he took care of her, just like Arai-sama. Okay. That made more sense.

Kyouya soon exited the bathroom, clad in his nightclothes. He looked quite ready to collapse into bed. He felt like he should say something encouraging or something before bed, but as was glaringly obvious to everyone ever, that was not his strong suit.

"Sleep well, Haruhi."

Her expectations _had_ been... something more, at least, and she deflated a bit at the simple statement. "Good night." As he clicked off the light, she wiggled down in the covers, wondering if Senpai snored or something. She supposed that wouldn't be too bad, considering he was nearby if she needed him, (or vice-verse, actually), so snoring would be a small price to pay. "Senpai?"

He settled into his own bed, ready to turn out his bedside light. "Yes?"

She rethought it, shaking her head in the dark, "Never mind." and turned over to face the wall.

"Really?" He asked, propping his head up on his arm to fix her with a skeptical eyebrow. For all the raving she did about him needing to speak his mind, she certainly was tight-lipped today. "I would like it if you didn't keep things from me."

She sighed, turning back over and shooting him a look. "It was a childish request, and unnecessary." She sniffed. "So it doesn't matter."

He leaned forward with a sigh. "If it doesn't matter, then why not just say it?"

Turning to face him entirely, she colored and spat, "I was going to ask if I could sleep in your bed with you if I woke up with nightmares, but it doesn't matter! I'll be fine."

"Well, that is the point of you being here, isn't it?" Kyouya flopped back again, to tired to deal with this right now. "Do what you want. Good night." He shut off his light.

"Impossible." She muttered and closed her eyes. "Men are impossible. Good night." She added the last part normally.

He pretended not to hear her muttering. Stubborn woman.

He soon forgot about it all, though, as he finally drifted off to sleep.

Haruhi knew she was tired, mentally, but something wasn't right yet. She felt a bit restless, and decided getting up and walking around for a few minutes wouldn't hurt anything. The obvious stop was Kyouya's bed, where she stopped mostly to see his expression. _Just like earlier_, she thought, _he looks so different when he's asleep. _On a whim, she went around the bed and stood there, considering whether it would be worth it to climb up and see his face from up close. As he shifted a bit in his sleep, the decision was made for her, and she carefully crawled up. She wondered if this is what he looks like when no one was around. It was certainly different, that was for sure.

Ever since she'd been here originally, she'd wondered what it would be like falling asleep in a safe pair of arms. She cocked her head, feeling as if she'd _far_ over-stepped her bounds, but so _curious._ Plus, Senpai was a heavy sleeper, so he barely noticed as she wiggled under his left arm, softly touching his right hand, half-wishing he would wake up and hold her hand right now. But... everything was so... comfortable.

The movement might have edged him to a very dim side of consciousness. He was vaguely aware of a soft, warm thing in his arms. Being half asleep as he was, it seemed perfectly natural. He let out a soft sigh, wrapping his arms more snugly around this warm, soft thing, before dozing once more.

Haruhi felt like a bumbling school girl as she let out a soft sigh and let herself relish the fact that Senpai had pulled her closer. It didn't take long to fall asleep, forgetting her decision entirely of moving back to the couch.

Waking up the next morning was even harder than usual. He heard the alarm clock, but couldn't even pull his arm out from under the covers to shut it off. He was just so, amazingly warm and comfortable. He opened his bleary eyes. His mind was so very slow in the morning, but he didn't come to recognize this warm thing as Haruhi.

Oh wait, she was in bed with him. Interesting. He decided it was best he got up soon, before thoughts of a certain nature began to invade. And before that hellish screeching of the alarm clock (so it seemed to him) woke her. He carefully began maneuvering his way around her, trying desperately not to wake her

She felt him moving. In the back of her mind, her training screamed she should be making sure he never_ wanted_ to leave the bed, but her brain was too muddled to do anything except try wiggling closer. It was... too early to... think. She clutched at the fabric in her hands and tried to doze back away.

She was certainly making this harder for him. He managed, at the very least, to get the alarm clock shut off. Just that movement alone was enough to drain him of his motivation. He felt like he could lie here all day, snuggling with Haruhi. But only because he was tired. No other reason.

Unfortunately, he had far to much self discipline for such shenanigans. He wrapped the blanket around her tighter to make up for the loss of his body heat, and pushed himself to the edge of the bed. Almost there.

The sudden quiet after that obnoxious blaring, (alarm clock?), startled her, and she finally opened her eyes. "Senpai?" She asked, wishing she didn't sound like a run-over frog in the morning. She pushed her legs out straight, straight, stretching and sighing deeply, sitting up on all fours to stretch her back before she could maneuver her legs to dangle over the bed. She vaguely noticed how her pajamas had ridden up overnight._ Oh well_, she thought, stretching above her head.

Kyouya caught her little stretching routine from the corner of his eyes, and made a very deliberate attempt to look elsewhere. Good grief, did she make this difficult. At least his blood was flowing at a regular, mammalian pace now. "Good morning, Haruhi." He said, his voice stiff and vaguely uncomfortable. He finally sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "Sleep well?"

She looked at him, frowning then suddenly coloring. "I didn't mean to overstep... I'm sorry." She tried not to completely hang her head, but she could imagine what he was going to say next.

Well, at least she slept through the night. "It's fine, so long as you tell me in advance next time." He stood up, stretching a kink out of his neck, still making a very strained attempt not to look at her.

And that had _not_ been what she'd thought. She watched him get up before realizing he was stretching purposefully in front of her. Jumping up, she nervously hopped the small distance and reached up to work out the muscle. "Sorry," she apologized quietly. She really _was_ rusty, wasn't she? She'd been spoiled to much, that was for sure.

Her touched caused a sudden jolt through him. The surprise quickly dissipated, however. Wow, did that feel good. His shoulders went slack for a moment. "Hm... We should get ready for school." He made no effort to move, however

She grinned, knowing he couldn't see it. "May I finish first?" She'd moved down a bit to his back, and she _knew_ how good she was at this. She dug her arm into a certain tangle of muscles, working it out expertly.

Before he could stop it, a quiet moan escaped him. "Ah, well, alright." At this point, he would have agreed to marry her so long as she kept up what she was doing.

That quiet sound had sent tremors through Haruhi, as if reminding her that Senpai _was_ in fact human, and had weaknesses just like everyone else. She leaned down to get a better angle at his lower back, wishing she could just lay him down and give him a proper massage. The way she was leaning, it would take minimal effort to just lean in and kiss him-

But there would be none of that. She dug her thumbs in, hoping to elicit another reaction like before, but not expecting anything of the sort. One slip up was probably the only she'd see all day.

She grinned, knowing he couldn't see her face. She gave a quiet, "As you wish," and began digging in a bit deeper, moving steadily down his back. A part of her wished she could give him a proper massage, laid out on the bed, all the way to his toes. Instead she contented herself for just leaning down to get a better angle on the small of his back. (Which wasn't very small, comparatively) She knew she was good, and halfway wished she could elicit another response like before. One slip up in a day was more than she should have hoped for, though.

He took a few deep breaths as the massage went on. This was almost too self indulgent. He began to wonder if he wasn't breaking the rules just a little bit. Strictly speaking, this wasn't sex, and she _did_ seem to want this, but... No. He pulled away. "Alright, I think that's enough for the day.

She watched him step away, hands falling to her sides. Why did this matter so much? "Okay." As long as you enjoyed it.

Reluctantly, he excused himself from the room to change. He had to watch himself more carefully, if they were going to be living together. There was a fine line between watching out for her and taking advantage of her.

She watched him leave, only righting herself and going to get her school clothes when he was out of sight. She looked at the uniform carefully, wondering how bad of an idea it was to change in here before Senpai came back out. Ultimately, she decided to wait, and took her things to the door of the bathroom to wait.

Once Kyouya had collected his thoughts and changed, he left the bathroom. It was far to early to debate the issue. He would figure things out over a deep cup of coffee.

She changed quietly, gathering her things and finding Senpai slowly waking up over a...very large cup of coffee. She cleared her throat and sat down. Did she eat? Not eat? Oh right, he wanted her to eat, didn't he? But that was weird, so maybe he'd been joking. She began playing with her phone to busy her hands.

"You skipped a meal yesterday." He said between long droughts of coffee. "I wouldn't recommend you do so again today."

She cocked an eyebrow. "My food intake is of priority?" Unintentionally, she glanced down at her stomach. Wait, was she finally gaining weight?

"Your health is a priority, yes." Kyouya motioned for one of the servants buzzing about the room. "What would you like?"

She blinked. Breakfast was still certainly an extremely foreign concept at this point. Though she'd been trying to reintroduce meals, at Senpai's confusing directives, it was difficult to know what to eat/how much to eat/when to eat. "A cup of tea." She tried to make her voice sound more commanding than it felt.

"That's hardly breakfast." Kyouya peered over his glasses at her like a scrutinizing school teacher. "She'll also have a strawberry crepe and a glass of milk." He told the butler. He gave a crisp nod, and departed for the kitchen.

She deflated a bit. Food, yes. He wanted her to _eat_, not just consume. "So..." She glanced around the room, tapping her thumbs on the back of her phone, "How did you sleep last night?" Oh crap, she tried not to wince too openly. _That_ probably hadn't been the best opening question for casual conversation.

He grimaced behind his coffee cup, trying not to remember his wonderful wake-up call this morning. "Well enough." He decided was the easiest answer. "More importantly, how were you? I didn't hear you last night, so I assume you had a good night's rest."

Didn't hear her? Well, she supposed that was safe enough. "Yes." She didn't dream, she didn't wake up. Most importantly she didn't have to reenact every violent moment of her life before breakfast. "Well."

"Good." He finished his coffee, feeling much more himself. He decided to leave conversations about sleeping arrangements at a minimum. It was no use trying to change it, she needed to sleep somehow.

Soon, the butler returned. He placed a fancy, silver breakfast tray in front of her, with a beautiful and no doubt delicious breakfast upon it.

She blinked. While eating was something absolutely necessary for life, she didn't have any formal training in proper techniques. She looked at the crepe, wondering what the best way of consuming it was. She somehow had a full set of silverware, (real silver, of course), but that was even more confusing. She slowly began to mix sugar into her tea so she could try to figure out the simplest way of consuming enough to satisfy Senpai.

It occurred to Kyouya that it made no sense whatsoever to expect her to have any sort of decent table manners. "Hold on." He stood, walking around the table to stand behind her. He reached over her shoulders to take her hands, guiding them to their proper places.

She stiffened, unsure of what he was doing. His hands were on hers though, and she couldn't help think that they were even better than what she'd tried to imagine. (That wasn't creepy, right?) He was leaning over her so that if she turned her head too much to look at him, her nose would have bumped his chin. When she realized what he was showing her, she let out a tiny puff of air and whispered, "Ah, to hold." It wasn't hard for her to slip back into the tendrils of her non-used language skills, (only one of the other many things she wasn't good at, she mused mournfully), and any kind of stressor pushed her that direction quite easily. She glanced up at Senpai's face, wondering what he would look like now, without glasses.

"Like this." His face was almost close enough to touch hers. He worked with her hands very gently, curling her fingers into the correct position, walking her through the motions slowly, in hopes that she would learn better that way. Even when he came to recognize the intimacy of the moment, he seemed almost hesitant to pull his hands away from hers.

The bite was cut and ready for her to eat, but she didn't want him to move away. It killed her to think that she would let herself be this irrational, but decided that, for this moment, it was enough to drink in the soft touches that could almost be classified as caresses. She turned to look at him completely, wishing for all the world that she had the choice to just reached up and nuzzle his neck- "You eat?"

"Not yet." He replied, his voice soft, far away. All of the physical affection was almost clouding his still sleepy head. He guided the fork to her mouth.

She opened her mouth, but didn't look away from him. He was so... gentle. What would kissing feel like against that soft mouth? The thought completely startled her, (Since WHEN did she fantasize about kissing?), making her bite down too early, and embarrassingly missed the fork. Her brow knit together as she felt heat lightly build on her cheeks.

A bit of whipped cream from the crepe rubbed off on her lips. He wanted, for all the world, to removed it with his lips. He even found himself leaning in closer still, feeling her breath on his face.

No, no, no, no, NO! He let go, quite suddenly, straightening his back, and stepping away from the table. "Perhaps we should practice your table manners at dinner tonight." He straightened his perfectly straight tie.

She looked down at her lap helplessly, wondering why she was suddenly so undesirable. Maybe she'd been cuter when she was younger. Maybe groups of guys didn't really care what you looked like as long as you were female. She frowned, letting her body shake the tiniest bit. Kissing Senpai had been an absolutely ridiculous notion, to begin with. Her eyes widened, fisting and unfisting her hands as she wondered if he had seen her thoughts written all over her features. It _was_ Master, after all. No, it was Senpai. And Senpai wasn't the rest of the people she'd belonged to; he would never be able to take up the title she'd given to the rest of them. "I-I-I;" She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Getting upset wouldn't do anything. "I apologize."

Kyouya took just one more self indulgent moment to stare up at the ceiling and ponder to whatever deity was listening just _what_ had he done wrong this time? He looked back to her. "You aren't to be blamed for a lack of formal table manners." He said, carefully controlling all inflection in his voice to sound like his calm, calculating self.

She looked up at him. Frowned. Then tried not to confusedly blurt out, "Wait, what?" Ah yes. Senpai _couldn't_ read her mind, could he? "I, um, yes. I will try my hardest to learn them soon." The whipped cream still sat on her lips, forgotten or possibly ignored, as she looked down at the crepe that was still sitting dejectedly untouched on the table. "And I will eat the rest of this if you wish to demonstrate." She held up the utensils, raising her eyebrows for permission.

"Yes, do that." He replied. "And don't forget your napkin."

She licked at her lip, and slowly cut up the crepe, eating it as reasonably fast as possible. The car had already been brought up by the time she was done.

Kyouya nodded in approval. "Very good." He checked his watch. He had no intention of being late today. "Ah, are you ready to leave?"

She nodded, slinging her satchel on and following him out. "What are we cosplaying at club today, Senpai?"

"I believe Tamaki had some ideas about Native Americans." He checked the calendar on his phone for confirmation (never in his life did he think he would have a cosplay schedule on his phone.) "Though he does tend to shuffle things around."

She nodded and chuckled. "He seems like he would be a handful for you, Senpai. You're so organized and he's anything but."

"I suppose that's why we work well together." He slipped his phone back into his pocket as he led her to the car. "I do hope he'll learn or thing or two one day."

She snorted. "Well, you'd be the one to teach it to him. I can't imagine him clinging to anyone else as passionately as he does to you." She slid in the car, realizing too late she'd gotten in before Senpai had and immediately moved to the floor to wait out his reaction.

Oh, she had no idea. That man clung passionately to everything. He slid in next to her. He barely had to look at her to know what she was doing. "It's undignified to sit on the floor."

Hoisting herself (un)gracefully back to the seat, she scratched her head apologetically. "I won't do that again..." She clasped her hands together, suddenly intrigued by her twiddling thumbs.

"I certainly hope not." He replied. He returned to thumbing through his phone, where he kept all of his plans for the day.

She knew he thought she'd meant sitting on the floor, but didn't correct him for fear of another yesterday-sized argument. For someone who could pound her into the ground with any weapon of his choosing and not get sued/punished in any way for it, Senpai let a _lot_ of things slide. She'd angered him, angered him again, made ridiculous demands, and then completely overstepped her boundaries by initiating physical contact without specific orders. Of course, watching his hands move out of the corner of her eye wasn't helping, as she really just wanted to take one and kiss it all over. Making things worse. She sighed.

He stole a few glances at her from the corner of his eye. He knew he often didn't connect with her, verbally. It had been a source of endless frustration as of late. How was he to help her if he didn't know what she was thinking? He was usually so much better at this...

Come to think of it, was he actually upset with her for what happened at Tamaki-Senpai's house or not? (Her training-warped mind refused to admit that nothing of value had transpired) Should she avoid him at all costs? Should she still treat him like before? "Senpai?" She didn't like bringing any of it up, but didn't want to anger him again. "How should I respond to Suoh-sama?" Better to just ask point-blank.

Kyouya shifted in his seat. It was a complicated problem, as he had no real reason for his reaction. Perhaps it would be best to keep emotions out of the situation. That always seemed to work best. "As you usually would." He replied.

"So your anger yesterday should be disregarded?" Vaguelly, she wondered why these sorts of conversations came up in the car.

He shifted again, adjusted his glasses. "Simply put, yes."

She nodded. "Alright." If he wanted it that way, she wouldn't worry about it too much. "But please tell me if I overstep at all." No reason to _try_ to cause trouble, right?

"I wouldn't hesitate." And that was true. She really hadn't done anything wrong yesterday. Or this morning, really. He couldn't very well tell her not to do something without telling her /why/ not to, now could he?

"Thank you." She looked out the window, secretly glad that the school was relatively close to the Ootori mansion.

The car pulled up to the school building. He was almost glad to get some distance from her. He probably needed it. "Well, here we are. Work hard today."

She looked up as he was exiting the car. "Of course! And you! I mean, not that I should tell... you..." She frowned. "Have a good day."

Heh. It was almost cute, sometimes. "Thank you, Haruhi." He said over his shoulder as he strutted off to his classroom

She dragged herself through the hallways, wishing she could go back to bed. Not because she was tired, but just from the extreme amount of emotions she'd already been through today. She yawned. Being a regular person was tiresome, wasn't it? Her class was still floating in as she entered, the twins nearby already.

"Mornin' Haruhi!" Kaoru greeted her with his usual impish smile. She looked tired. Maybe a result of whatever happened after the text yesterday? What HAD happened, he found himself wondering.

Hikaru slung an arm around her. "Well don't you look peppy and ready to go this morning!" He smirked, half-hoping she wasn't tired due to the post on the forums yesterday. "Heard any good rumors lately?"

She gave him a look and yawned again. "Good morning. No. But I have a feeling that if you /have/, I'm about to."

Kaoru chuckled. "Nah, we're not gossips." Lie.

How odd. Things looked like they were on the edge of a blow up yesterday. Did they really sort things out already?

She trudged to her seat, pulling out her homework and breathing a sigh of relief. That's right, she was caught up, wasn't she? It was a good feeling.

Meanwhile, Tamaki was doodling on the edge of _his_ homework, waiting for a certain dark-haired person to come in. He was all ready with the fireworks outside too, if need be.

Kyouya entered the classroom, bracing himself for the everyday skeptical Tamaki seemed to make out of his apprearance.

As soon as he saw his friend, Tamaki jumped up and bounced over to hug him. "Mon ami! You're here! I was so worried!"

"I doubt you've been waiting long enough to warrent worry." Kyouya said, awkwardly shimmying out of his friend's bear-like hug.

He laughed and flounced along with his friend. "Well, no. But I always worry about you. Did you get Haruhi home last night alright?"

Oh right, that. "Of course." He replied. "You'll be happy to know that she had a wonderful time."

He lit up, his whole face awash with eager anticapation. "She did? Oh, good!" He paused in terror. "Did her father enjoy the food? I wasn't sure what commoners ate, Kyouya! I was afraid it wouldn't be suited for his palate, and he would hate the person who sent him his body-altering food forever."

"He seemed to enjoy it quite thoroughly." Kyouya took a seat, his friend's energy-draining kicking in a bit early.

Tamaki heaved a huge sigh of relief. "Oh, good!" He was nervously shuffling his pen around. "Kyouya," he said, "Do you think... do you think she would come over again? I don't know what it is about her, but I feel so... energized when she's near!"

Hm. 'Energized.' Kyouya was no stranger to the classic symptoms of infatuation, especially as of late. He wouldn't admit to why that made him just a little bit angry. "Perhaps if you stay in her good graces. Although, I'm not sure she'll be needing a study partner in the future."

He'd relaxed to cupping his face in his hand, now twirling the pen. At that he jerked up. "What? Why? And when have I not been in her good graces? I~~~am a gentleman."

"You certainly are." He made no attempts to explain himself. Indeed, he had no time to, as the beginning of class was formally announced

The day proceeded fairly normally, and the host club actually sat all together at lunch. On any given day, they _might_ end up all together, but generally it was just too much of a hassle to get anything proper done. Haruhi slumped down in the cafeteria chair when she realized she hadn't packed herself anything. _Again._

Ah, that was, of course, Kyouya's fault. He never thought to pack a lunch when there were acceptable options at school. But then, she couldn't afford any of that, could she? He contemplated how bad it would look if he bought her lunch. Maybe if he added it to her debt. "Are you hungry?" He asked her, once the rest of the club was adaquatly distracted.

She grimaced. "Not enough to have to pay for any of this stuff. Can't I wait until club?" It was school time, and the crowd around them made it hard for her to follow his rules closely. (Right?)

He sighed, retrieving his wallet from his pocket. He pulled a few bills from the front pocket, slipping them into her palm. "I'll make sure you have a lunch tomorrow."

Nodding numbly, she excused herself to go retrieve the food. While in line, she couldn't help but stare at the money. She'd never actually held money. Hmm. It looked like paper. She ran her thumb along the bill and squinted at it, but didn't find any conclusive evidence of why it seemed to be in such high demand. When she reached the counter, she wasn't even sure _how_ to pay, and ended up giving the hostess all of it, and recieving most of it back. Carrying the tray carefully, she fisted the money tightly so she could deliver every last bit of it to Senpai.

Kyouya watched her from across the room, while keeping up a friendly conversation with his fans. She seemed to be doing okay. Even so, he felt he should check up on her. As soon as he could break away from the mob.

The only thing she knew about money was how much she'd been worth in past transactions. These smaller denominations were foreign, and she was beginning to wonder how much was average to spend on lunch, or clothing, or books or whatever. She set the tray down carefully, meticulously practicing her new cutlery skills as she sipped her chowder. Senpai's change was concealed under the tray so she didn't lose any of it.

No, she was plenty capable of handling herself. He had no idea why he worried so much. She was airly capable. He still stole glances at her all throughout lunch.

Even with the twin's jostling, and Tamaki's constant chatter, she managed to finish the whole bowl, and ate both of the (five star) crackers. When it was empty, she sat back to admire her handiwork. Hm. Maybe eating would be easier to reinstate than she'd thought.

He seemed satisfied enough with that to sneak his way out of the lunchroom. He really much preferreed to eat in the quiet of the homeroom. He only made a customary appearence for the fans from tinme to time, and of courser to make sure she was taking care of herself. He finished his break in peace.

She tucked the money away in her bag at Senpai's absense, and let the twins chaffuer her back to class without saying much. The rest of her classes were hard to stay awake in, except for the inner battle of not pulling out her phone to text him. She just... wanted to make sure he had a good day... or ask about the money... or tell him how good she'd done at lunch... But none of it sounded right, so she stared at the phone, wishing for _something_ to happen.

At the risk of his professional integrity, he often get the urge to text her, as well. Just out of the blue. He never did, of course. that was silly. He would see her in a few hours, anyways. Just a silly impulse that didn't go away until he met her in the club room after school.

She'd not changed yet when he arrived. Not wanted to call unneeded attention to them, she forwent a hello and slipped back to the changing room. If he needed something, she was quite certain he would let her know. Half of her hoped he would barge in on her changing and ravish her secretly, quietly enough for the others not to hear. _That_ thought made her drop and step on (accidentally, of course) her headband, and winced when she realized she'd bent the feather. _Ah, me and my big thoughts._

Kyouya slipped into his own changing room, still doing his best to force all unprofessional thoughts from his mind. He was beginning to think having her work for a host club might not be means of eliminating these thoughts, but then what choice did she have?

The feather as un-bent as it was going to get, she sighed and looked herself up and down in the mirror. The flouncy little skirt was short, (again), and she couldn't help but wonder why these girls couldn't see that, DUDE, no dude had legs like this. Not that they were anything special, but she knew from experience that they definitely didn't know look like a man's set. She left the fitting room unsatisfied, but at least dressed. (And she was used to wearing short skirts; she just hoped she wouldn't have to lean over for anything)

Kyouya exited his changing room just in time to get a good look at Haruhi's costume from behind. It certainly was flattering. Though, he wondered if any of the girls would ever begin to take notice of her feminine features.

Oops. He caught himself staring. He scooped up his clipboard, and made himself look busy.

She knew she was overanlyzing everything; Senpai had just lingered, for miliseconds too long to be a casual glance. That was good, right? She shook herself out of it, heading to her own table to set up for the guests.

The day wore on, monotonous as ever. Exchanging pleasantries, hawking club merchandise and deluxe packages with all the subtlness of a used car salesman. Oddly, he almost found himself looking forward to returning home with Haruhi

It was nearing the end of the club time, and Tamaki was restless. He knew he'd been slightly off his game today, and couldn't help but glance (repeatedly) over to their natural's table. He really wished she could spend the evening with him again. But what had Kyouya said earlier? She wouldn't need him? Why not? He didn't pay attention to his whine levels, which were steadily rising. Finally he disreetly, (he thought), texted the Dark Lord. _Kyoouya! Wht do u think Haruhi would say if i invited her 2 my house? Q,n,Q_

"Pardon me." He pilotely bowed to his guests before checking his phone. That man really aught to know better by now. He only left his phone on during club for important things.

Ah, it was about Haruhi. He stole a quick glance at her, then at the idiot across the room. It was none of his business what Tamaki did, but he insisted on making it his business now that Haruhi was concerned.

'Do what you want.' He replied, mashing his keys somewhat passive-agrressively, as if Tamaki were privy to his internal dialogue and debate.

Tamaki read the message quickly, typing a hasty 'Okay!' back before moving on to Haruhi. At least his guests had either left early or were looking over the new 'Suoh Tamaki' handbook that had just come out. One could never get enough of him!

Haruhi saw her phone light up and reached for it tactlessly, wondering if it was Senpai. Her expression fell a bit when she saw the source, but she still opened it right away. As she read it, she tried not to let her emotions show. This _had _to be a test. She wasn't afraid to tattle, either; at least not with Kyouya-Senpai. 'Senpai', she typed out hastily, 'Tamaki-Senpai wants me to come over again. How do you want me to inform him I can't?'

Kyouya checked his phone again, this time keeping it under the table. His guests rarely noticed. Ah, Haruhi again. He wanted so badly to restrict her, if only in this one area. What if, heaven forbid, she fell in love with the man?

'Perhaps you should mention that you have a prior engagement.'

She nodded as she read the reply. Senpai did seem as if he wanted to tutor her as needed from now on, so that would mean that she had already given her time to him. Typing out a reply to Tamaki-Senpai, the fleeting thought passed that it would be nice for Senpai to pull her rope in tighter sometimes. It was a vague one, and it vanished as she waited to see Tamaki's reaction.

He read the text, disappointed at her response. Maybe tomorrow! He was ever the optimist, and immediately set his mind to ask her tomorrow morning.

It almost felt good, keeping her to himself like that. He knew it was doing no good for her independant thought, but he needed to draw a line somewhere. She was still his property, after all.

Soon, it was time to politely inform the guests that time was up. Finally.

As the guests said their goodbyes, Haruhi felt more than a little relieved. Even though nothing of consequence had really happened that day, she was tired. Going back to Kyouya's house with him sounded more relaxing than it should, but all she wanted to do was drop into his limo and fall asleep.

Kyouya was more than happy to see them gone, as well. He sat at his table a bit longer, hoping to out wait the rest of the club so they couldn't see him leaving with Haruhi again. Twice in a row was just a little suspiious.

Kaoru had been thinking about the Kyouya situation for the better part of the day. Something was up, but who should he confront about it?

Tamaki sat at the table, sulking a bit. He was still disappointed, no matter how many more chances he had to make today the first day of the rest of his life. He sighed, tapping his fingers against the table, hoping he could at least leave with Kyouya. May they could go shopping at the commoner's mall!

Kyouya took a quick glance around the room. It seemed nobody had any intention of leaving just yet. Or talking, for that matter. It was almost eerie. Well, if he was going to have to sit around waiting on everybody else, he wasn't going to do so in this riciculous costume. He left for the changing rooms.

Haruhi looked up to see Senpai heading for the changing room. Almost by instinct, she jumped up to follow him. Thankfully, her things were still laying on the floor in the changing room, so it wasn't _too_ suspicioius.

Or so she thought. Hikaru rolled his eyes and flicked at Kaoru's hair. "What do you you think is going on? She looks at him like a little lost puppy!"

Deep, deep down, Kaoru really wanted to be a good person. He really did care about Haruhi's well-being, and it was this that motivating his answer. "I dunno. But I'm gonna find out." He quietly followed after them.

Haruhi was standing at the curtain, wavering. She knew it was the wrong one, but... /Senpai/ was in there. Maybe he needed her to... get him something.

Kaoru peaked in from around the corner, doing his best to stay out of sight.

Kyouya could hear her out there. The rustling of the fabric of her dressed, the hesitant foot shuffling. "Is there something you need?" He asked, before he though about how awkward it might be to talk with her while his clothes were off.

She twitched, only half-surprised he'd heard her. "...No." Why was she there? Her thoughts were getting a little dreamier than she'd liked and her legs seemed much to tired to hold her up for much longer.

"Then I suggest you get ready to leave." He replied. It was somewhat distracting, her standing out there like that. Just what was she trying to accomplish at this point?

She nodded numbly, vaguely turning to look in the direction of her stall, before the world turned the wrong way around and then... nothing.

"Haruhi?" Kaoru dashed out of his hiding place. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Kyouya threw the curtain aside. He saw nothing but Haruhi for a split second. He knelt by her side, frantically feeling for her pulse. "Go get the nurse!" He snapped. Kaoru wasted no time in doing as he was instructed.

Tamaki heard the dull _thump_ before he saw Kaoru rush by. He frowned, jumping up and striding quickly towards the commotion. "Kyouya, what's-"

Haruhi was on the floor. He froze, staring before he noticed the expression on his friend's face. "Kyouya, what can I do?"

Kyouya scooped her up. "Keep an eye on her. She may stop breathing." He carried her swiftly back tot he main room to lay her on the couch.

Tamaki turned white. Stop... breathing? He trotted behind Kyouya, stuttering an affirmation to watch her.

Hikaru had joined his twin, pulling the situation out of him as they jogged down the hall. _But why go to Kyouya-Senpai in the first place?_ He wondered, rounding a corner.

Kaoru had a similar though in mind, at first. But, right now, taking care of Haruhi was his priority. He all but dragged the school nurse back to the club room.

They all seemed to deflect to Kyouya when the nurse entered. Tamaki nervously hovered around the couch, watching her soft lips move slightly. Otherwise, she was perfectly still, and it was scaring Tamaki to new heights.

This was a bit sticky. He took the nurse aside, explaining her situation in the vaguest terms he could manage, and in a very hushed tone. There was no need for the rest of them to hear any of this. He would also be sure to bride this young lady in the very near future, lest word get out.

Hikaru flitted in and out of the sparse conversation nervously. What was happening? Why wasn't she over here looking at Haruhi yet? Nothing was moving fast enough for him at all.

"She'll need to be taken to a hospital for proper treatment." The nurse said quietly. "Shall I have an ambulence called?"

"No." Kyouya replied. "I'll take care of it." His family did own most of the hospitals in the area, after all. He made a quick phone call, ensuring that the dispatch understood that this was a high priority patient.

Tamaki watched the scene wide-eyed, wondering if crying now would be too distracting. Even though he didn't exercise it often, he could read his best friend quite well and finally could tell when it wasn't the time to bother him.

Kyouya and the nurse set about moving Haruhi closer to the exit, so she would be ready when the ambulence arrived. There was a rushed efficiency about all of his actions, but he seemed relatively calm, as always. What he was feeling inside, however, was a different matter entirely.

It didn't take long for the ambulence to finally pull up.

Tamaki turned to the other hosts. "Men, it is our duty to stay near to Haruhi during this time of need. We can all go in my car and follow the ambulence to the hospital." For some reason, no one questioned that Kyouya was the one who would ride in the emergency vehicle.

Kaoru was almost uncomfortable watching the ambulence drive away with only Kyouya there for her. He couldn;'t shake the feeling that this might have been his fault, somehow. He encouraged Tamaki's driver to get there ASAP.

The world was blurry, unopened, dancing in the light and hard to see. She didn't want to open her eyes, but a half-formed thought came that_ I want Senpai to hold my hand._ It was confusing in here; she didn't know what was going on. It was calling her, that depth of nothing. Surrendering to the inky blackness again, she pushed all the energy she had into wiggling her fingers. The darkness was more freeing, anyway.

* * *

><p>AN: I hope you guys are enjoying this so far! I'd love to hear from you with your thoughts. :)  
>(I'll either be posting the next chapter in about a week, or when we hit 8 reviews for the chapter. Just a thought for you guys ;))<p> 


	17. Akito

Perhaps the stress of the situation had brought on some hyper-vigilance. He noticed every minute detail, including those wiggling fingers. suddenly, they had his attention. He wondered, if she was conscious enough for such an action, was she scared? Probably. But he wasn't about to start chatting with an unconscious woman. That would make him seem desperate. Slowly, he slipped her hand into his. She would just have to settle for that.

"So..." Hikaru tapped his fingers over his lap anxiously. "Are we almost there?"

Kaoru glanced out the window. He wasn't especially familiar with the route from the school to the hospital, but he could see, at least, that they were in the retail district. "Yeah, I think so." He said quietly. The whole car ride felt painful tense with worry

When they pulled up, Hikaru was crouching by the door before they'd stopped. "Darn driver," he spat under his breath. Did he know he need to see if Haruhi was better _now_?

Although not as angry, Tamaki was just as apprehensive. He bounced lightly in his seat, waiting for the car to stop. He was going to fly to her side.

The ambulance, having no need to obey common traffic law, had arrived just a few minutes beforehand. Haruhi was all settled in the ICU, Kyouya still at her side.

It was quite a spectacle for all those in the parking lot to see a whole host club come flying out of a Rolls Royce. Kaoru rushed to the service desk to inquire after his friend.

Tamaki had practically run to the doorway of her room, but when he saw her lying in that bed, a breathing mask over her precious face, an IV in her arm and a dressing gown in place of her costume, he couldn't move. It was only when the others began approaching her could he creep in after them.

Kyouya quickly pulled his hand away from her, straightening his back into a more formal posture and coming up with a thousand different excuses for his behavior during this crisis.

"How is she?" Kaoru was the first to ask.

"She'll be alright." Kyouya replied. He glanced at Tamaki, gauging his (no doubt over-) reaction. "Some slight malnutrition. She should be back on her feet in a few days."

Hikaru pressed one finger feather-lightly into her stomach, asking bluntly, "Well why isn't she awake yet?"

Tamaki could just stare. None of this was right. She was pale, like Maman had been, without an discernible expression. Haruhi was supposed to be dressed in beautiful, confusing blue, not the dank white of the hospital gown.

"While it's not a terribly serious condition, she does still require rest." Though he spoke to the twins, his eyes were glued to Tamaki. He couldn't even guess what was going through his mind right now. For some reason, a tiny emotion similar to guilt bubbled up inside him.

The twins paid their respects quickly, Hikaru obviously unused to hospitals in general, much less someone he knew (and perhaps even cared about?) being kept in one, making it obvious that he didn't want to stay longer than needed. Soon it was only Tamaki, who was looking a bit white himself. After a long moment of silence, he looked up at Kyouya and said, "Tomorrow?" He shook himself, realizing his incomplete inquiry, "I mean to say, will she be better tomorrow? Will she come back to school?"

"Technically, yes." Kyouya replied. "But, I would recommend she rest for at least a couple of days, first." He tried to sound business-like, but the look on his friends' face was, in a way, unsettling. "How are you fairing?"

He paused, feeling uncomfortable in his skin for some reason. "Um... alright. I suppose. I-"

His hand shot out, running the length of her cheek, so lightly he could barely feel it. Sighing, he looked at Kyouya again. "I was just worried."

"I see." Even under these circumstances, he flinched possessively when he touched her face. "Well, as you can see, there is little cause for concern. This sort of thing is fairly common, as far as spontaneously passing out goes."

Tamaki laughed. It was instinctive, trying to make a bad situation better in any little way. Maman used to love his laugh, he remembered faintly. He used to tell her jokes and play his little piano, even before he was good. "I can stay with her, you know, if you want." He bumbled through the offer a little, feeling like he was overstepping his bounds somehow.

He really was a kind soul. Therein, he found the reason for his guilt. He supposed Tamaki deserved that much, at least. "Very well." He stood, giving her hand one last glance. "Text me if her condition changes."

Tamaki cocked his head, nodding quickly when he realized Kyouya was actually going to _let _him stay. (He hadn't been expecting that?) "Of course. Will you come back in the morning before school?"

"Of course." He adjusted his glasses. giving her one last longing stare. "I'll see you tomorrow." He said, trying his best not to sound strained and regretful. At least it was Tamaki. He could trust Tamaki.

He watched his best friend exit with a bit of lingering wonder that Kyouya actually trusted him enough to do this. He looked over to Haruhi, wondering if this was too much for him. He set his jaw, taking Kyouya's chair. He looked over the sleeping girl with a bit of apprehension.

_Settle yourself, Tamaki_, he cautioned inwardly. _She's going to be fine. I can always call Kyouya. _

He sat back, nervously looking over the girl. She'd be fine. She'd be- wait, did move? He whipped out his phone, tapping a message to Kyouya at lightning speed.

Kyouya hadn't even cleared the hospital when the text came in. He snapped his phone open. Oh, she was waking up already? Good, good. He would want to be there for that. He turned around, speeding off to her room.

Boy did he feel stupid sometimes.

While she probably hadn't actually been about to wake up on her own, there was someone talking now, and Haruhi began to stir.

Was it morning? She stretched, her hand feeling vaguely empty. No, this didn't feel like her bed. Suddenly she remembered she was living in Senpai's house again... _Was this his bed? The couch? _The sheets were wrong, though. Her fingers were brushing them, and she could tell the thread count was off. Lower. Why was she thinking about sheets? She slowly opened her eyes. "Senpai?"

Tamaki moved closer, gripping his fists tightly. "Haruhi! Are you alright?"

Kyouya took a quick breath to calm himself before stepping back into the room. He felt a wash of relief to see her, eyes open and somewhat alert. For all the soothsaying he did for Tamaki, he hardly realized how worried he himself had been. "How are you feeling?" He kept his voice low, hoping to keep her calm.

She looked from Tamaki to see that Senpai was on her other side. She knew her face lit up, but didn't really care. It was too late, (or early? What time was it?) to be able to control anything properly. "Senpai!" She tried to reach for him, not realizing her arm was wired. She winced.

Tamaki watched her excitement without interrupting. She certainly hadn't seemed to notice him very much, had she?

"Yes, we're here." Kyouya replied. He came to stand at the foot at her bed. "It seems you're suffering from a spot of malnourishment."

She frowned. "I-" Her voice sounded so dry. She swallowed before trying again. "I ate all of the chowder, honest Senpai."

"I don't doubt it." He replied. "You're not to blame here." He realized this was partially his fault, given his insistence on starting her on this diet without proper regard medical standards. But he would get into that when Tamaki wasn't around.

Tamaki blushed slightly at her worry. She was so cute! "Yeah, Haruhi! You didn't do anything wrong!" He flinched with the excitement. "I saw you eat all of that chowder today! You did great!"

She stared at him for a moment, then laughed. "Thanks, Tamaki-Senpai."

Ah, laughter. She must have been feeling better. "You'll need to stay home from school for a couple of days while you recover."

She looked up at Senpai, wiggling her neck a little to work out the uncomfortable kink. "Okay." They'd work out homework later. Suddenly she froze, her mind having conjured up a worst case scenario. "Do I have to stay here overnight?"

Tamaki tensed with her, though he didn't know why that was bad, looking to Kyouya for the answer.

Technically, he should say 'yes.' It was best that she be kept under observation for at least twenty-four hours. But he knew her better than that. She wouldn't last. "Not that you're awake, you shouldn't have to." His family did own the hospital, after all.

Tamaki watched her, and as she began to relax, he did too. "I can bring you ootoro, Haruhi! I can bring some over tonight, if you like!"

She looked to Kyouya desperately, "Should I eat something like that now?"

"I'm afraid that's far to rich for you right now." Kyouya replied. "You'll have to start out with low calorie meals and supplements for now."

Tamaki wilted, realizing his mistake. "I'm sorry. I'll get you all you want once you've recovered! Is that okay?"

Haruhi, of course, was disappointed, but just smiled and said, "Thanks, Tamaki-Senpai. I'll take you up on that, okay?"

He grinned from ear to ear. "Okay!" He paused for a second before realizing how much rest time he was using up. "Oh! I'll let you get some sleep, Haruhi. Feel well soon."

"I'll stay here to take you home once the paperwork is finished." Kyouya pressed the 'call nurse' button beside her bed. "You should think about resting up."

Tamaki exited quietly, with just a little wave and smile, and Haruhi yawned. "Okay. I think that... that would be good." She yawned again. "But I need to walk to the car, Senpai." She frowned, her muddled mind mushing her language together in a blur. "I... awake."

"It's hospital policy to take a wheelchair to-" He stopped himself when he realized that she was, indeed, not awake. Ah, probably for the best. The nurse soon returned, dropping off the required paperwork. He sat by her side, occasionally glancing over the top of the clipboard, just to insure she was still sleeping alright.

There were voices _everywhere._ She tried to run from them, but they were too many, too strong to escape. She moaned in protest, but they didn't listen. Then came hands. All over her, hurting her and she couldn't stop them because no one could hear her she, she, couldn't find anyone who would help. Despite herself, she started crying, feeling weaker with every tear.

He set the clipboard down, quite unsure of what to do. He scooted forward in his chair, reaching out for her hand once more. "Haruhi?" He said quietly, as soothingly as he could manage. "Wake up, Haruhi."

One of the hands was gentler. Wait, what had they said? She tried to open her eyes, knowing everyone from her past never cared enough to ask her for her name, and managed to pry them apart slowly. "Please," she whispered, her voice dripping with fear, "please, please stop. Hurts." When she opened her eyes though, it was Kyouya, watching her with an expression none of the men from her dreams did.

"It's not real, Haruhi." He spoke slowly and quietly. "You're here with me. They can't hurt you here, remember?"

Her hand instinctively clutched his, not offering the choice of letting go. "Senpai, they were-" she blinked away post-nightmare tears ferociously, "It hurt. Every day, and they never let me-" she hiccuped, "Let me-"

"I know." He leaned further forward, tenderly stroking her face. "I want to remember that that's over now, alright?"

The affection was almost too much. She leaned into his touch, letting herself close her eyes and drink it in; she'd been starved of positive emotion for too long. Her other hand timidly crept up to cover his over her cheek, nuzzling into the touch indulgently. "Yes. Because you protect me." This time she didn't ask.

"Yes." He found himself kneeling on the floor at her side now. "No one will ever touch you again. Not without my permission." He brushed a it of hair out of her face. "Now, go back to sleep, alright?"

Her heart jumped a bit with the complete and utter falseness of his words. They were too good to be true. If anyone was going to lie to her though, she wanted it to be Senpai. Slowly, she nodded, not wanting to end the wonderful embrace, no matter how much she doubted it. "Okay."

Kyouya continued to hold her, just in case, until she closed her eyes.

Of all the people she could have been found by, Kyouya was beginning to realize how ironic it was that it had been him. He was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a 'kind' or 'tender' person. The type of person she needed. He was flying blind her, and even after all this time had no idea he was doing anything right.

She fell asleep, peacefully this time, wondering what life would be like if it went back to before. Could she still function without knowing his warm embrace was waiting if she needed it? If she'd never known it, she could have possibly continued. Now that she'd experienced such tender affections, she didn't think she'd ever be able to function without.

He'd finished up the paperwork, but was a bit hesitant to move her just yet. He grimaced at the thought of waking her so soon after she'd gone to sleep. No, he would just wait by her side a while, until she woke up on her own. Then they could go home.

When she awoke, she opened her eyes blearily to see Senpai asleep by her bed. What time was it? Her heard sped up. She really didn't like hospitals, even when Senpai was with her. "Senpai?" She asked, her voice crackling with sleep. She tried to sit up, desperately musing that they could _not_ stay here overnight.

"Hm?" He lifted his head, straightening his glasses that had somehow become crooked on his face. "Ah,you're awake." He yawned. "Would you still like to go home?"

She gripped the sheets a bit too tightly, nodding. What if he refused her? Left her here on her own to fend for herself all night? She shivered, trying to untangle her legs from the bed sheets.

"Can you stand up?" He looked her over. Even after all the IV bags full of vitamins she'd received today, she looked somewhat shaky. He stood by, in case she needed someone to lean on

She nodded again, bare feet touching the floor, almost as if testing the water with her toes before she slipped down to push herself standing. As soon as she was up, she was wobbling, gratefully clinging to Senpai's arm, even if it was somewhat embarrassing. "Sorry," she said quietly, looking away from him. Even if it was just habit, she'd gotten beatings for less before, and couldn't stand to anger him; especially not when he was being so nice.

Instinctively, he put an arm around her waist to stable her. "Would you like a wheel chair?"

After a slight hesitation, she gave in and nodded. "That might be better than me falling on you the whole way down."

Kyouya called the nurse again. This being a fancy and expensive hospital, she showed up right away. After a few minutes, a wheelchair was delivered to them. Kyouya insisted he could handle it, perhaps a bit of his possessive nature creeping back up. He wheeled her out to his waiting car.

She scowled to herself on the way there. If there were any way to shake her groveling, she would try it. As it was, she felt as if the habit crept into her conversations with Senpai so much it was infuriating. In fact, she felt as if she should apologize right now, even when he couldn't hear her tumultuous inner dialogue. She let her head lull into her hand, annoyed. Not with Senpai. Just with herself. Her stupid, untrusting, too trusting, idiotic self.

Kyouya took her hand, helping her into the car. It felt like forever since he'd been home. He slid into the car next to her. "Although perfect attendance is a requirement of you scholarship, I'll see to it that the appropriate papers are filed."

She sank into the seat, as if she hadn't just been sleeping. Having not even thought of _that_ possibility, she sighed and said, "Thank you. If you see it necessary, I can go tomorrow."

"I won't have that." He replied. "It would be quite the inconvenience if you passed out in front of the guests. They would be quite worried about you." They weren't the only ones.

Only the guests? She nodded softly, wondering if she could stay awake through this whole car ride. "Senpai," She asked suddenly, brows knit together, "You're not going to make me sleep somewhere else because I'm ill, are you?" What if she was banished to the guest room because of more adequate bed size/comfort level? She shivered.

"It isn't contagious." He replied. "Sleep wherever you'd like." He ran through scenarios in his head that would allow him to stay home with her, but they all wound up being just a bit too convenient, and easy for suspicious minds to figure out. This could be problematic.

She blew the breath she'd been holding out of her mouth. Since when had she and Senpai become so intimate, exactly? "Alright. Thank you, Senpai." This seat was a lot more comfortable than she'd remembered.

"I, of course, won't be able keep an eye on you at all times, as I usually do. As always, the servants can get you anything you need." He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. The poor thing looked so fragile.

Sleep was beginning to overtake her again, (how many times had it been today?), but she was awake enough to comment, "Thank you for the offer, but I can't see myself asking anyone for anything anytime soon." She frowned, colored, than added, "Of course, other than you." She looked up at him, "Does that bother you?" A question she could have never posed to anyone else.

"Not so long as you're taken care of, one way or another." He replied. He would have to leave special instructions for the house staff to make sure she was fed and properly stimulated.

What an odd answer. However, she was properly falling asleep now, her head lolling to the side and snapping up a few times before she felt herself slip away. (Again)

Wow, that must have been some bad reaction. Maybe he would take her out of school for the rest of the week, if he saw no major improvements.

Admittedly, he thought it might be nice to have her to himself for a few days. No one else to tamper with her. He slipped an arm around her, half affectionately, half protectively.

It was warm here. Lazily, she curled in farther on the source of it, wondering why she hadn't begun sleeping with one of these ages ago.

When the chauffeur opened the door for them next, he found two sleeping teenagers. Scandalous as it was, he found it to be just adorable. Even so, it wouldn't get in the way of his duties. He coughed loudly, jarring Kyouya from his light-wave sleep.

"Sir?"

"You're dismissed, thank you." Kyouya grumbled, still half asleep. Ah, time to bring her inside. Once again, he brought her into his arms, this time having time to notice little details, like the feel of her bones under her skin and how dishearteningly thin she was. This would be remedied, he told himself once more.

If asked the next day if she remembered being carried in that night, she would have said no. The truth was that she did actually open her eyes briefly enough to get a glimpse of the mansion and had the enchanting feeling of being encased in careful, strong arms. She wasn't sure what was happening exactly, but she didn't feel threatened and let herself nuzzle closer and close her eyes again.

He tucked her into bed. She was still in her hospital gown, but that was a line he wasn't going to cross tonight. The blankets did a good job of conserving her modesty, anyways.

Ah, he supposed it was his turn to get to bed. But, well, climbing into bed with her just felt, well, wrong. A flagrant violation of his personal rules, at the very least.

Thankfully, Haruhi slept through the night easily, only waking when Kyouya's alarm clocks began to go off. She squinted blearily at the darkened room, wondering once again where she was. Taking account of the things around her gave her a surprising revelation that she was sleeping in Senpai's bed... and he was sleeping on the couch. She crawled out of bed slowly, feeling almost normal except some incessant dizziness upon walking, shuffling languidly over to the couch to try and wake Senpai up.

Without the alarm clocks right next to his head, the sound had a much harder time penetrating Kyouya's heavy sleeping. Even so, the constant pestering did work it's way in there somehow. He opened his eyes, wondering why he felt so sore already. Oh, right, because he slept in a chair yesterday. And on the couch last night. He was not looking forward to the task of actually moving.

She leaned over woodenly, rubbing his shoulder. "Senpai. It's time to get ready for school."

Oh, and Haruhi was here. That was going to take a while to get used to. He mumbled something unintelligible at her, half tempted, as always, to just roll over and go back to sleep. He sat up, rubbing at his tired eyes.

She folded her arms, rocking back and forth a bit unintentionally. "Senpai, you have things to do today; why didn't you take the bed? I'm certain I would have been fine on the couch."

"Hm?" He didn't sound like he fully understood the question at first. He wouldn't have had a decent answer for her either way. "Just b'cause." He mumbled, fumbling for his glasses resting on the coffee table.

She rolled her eyes, shuffling awkwardly to the wardrobe. Why did her hips feel so sore this morning? "Okay." She conceded because she knew it was going to be the best argument he could come up with, now or otherwise. Thumbing through the clothing hung neatly inside it, she found his extra uniform and pulled it out, hoping everything he needed was already on the hanger.

He pulled himself to his feet, his back slumped from tiredness as well as soreness. He shuffled across the room to accept the hanger. He couldn't remember if he'd mumbled a thanks or not before shuffling off to get changed. Mornings were not good.

She sat down on the edge of the bed, secretly ecstatic that she got to spend the day lounging in _Kyouya's_ bed, doing nothing at all of importance. She was awake now, and her mind was working overtime to try figuring out what happened yesterday. It couldn't be as simple as they'd made it out to be. Then the thought occurred to her that she could barely remember her last shower. Ew. Senpai had had to carry her, hadn't he? She grimaced. That would have to be fixed.

Kyouya hap-hazardously ran a tooth brush over his teeth before leaving the bathroom. He seemed slightly more alert now that he was moving around and getting his blood flowing. "You'll be alright by yourself, then?"

She looked up and smiled. "Yes. May I use the shower while you're gone?"

"Yes, of course." He replied before stiffing a yawn. "I'll see to it that your father is properly fed tonight." He thought about anything else she might worry about while he was gone. He would hate to ruin her day off with all these unecesary stressors. "And you have my number."

Inexplicably, she colored. "Alright," she said, keeping her voice level, "I'll contact you if anything happens."

"I do encourage it." He replied. "I would like to ensure that you have breakfast before I leave."

Involuntary eye roll. "Alright." She stood to join him, still the slightest bit shaky. "Lead the way."

"Very well." He staid mostly beside her in the way to the dining room, just in case those shakey legs of hers gave out. The chef had prepared her a small, simple meal in line with her requirements. "How are your silverware skills coming?" He asked, remembering her display at lunch yesterday. He was sort of proud of her, in a way.

She cut a bit of food expertly, eating it and holding up her cutlery. "I feel much more confident. And I ate all my chowder yesterday without help!" She really was proud of that accomplishment.

He allowed a small smile. "Very good. We'll make a proper aristocrate out of you yet."

She felt confident that that would probably never occur, but smiled and nodded a bit anyway. "Tell everyone I'm sorry I couldn't be there today, will you?" She gave him a steady look to indicate her seriousness. "And tell them not to worry."

"Of course." He replied. "I must admire your dedication." He said with a small grin. Where was this coming from, he wondered?

She'd seen firsthand how jumpy she'd made Tamaki-Senpai the night before, and couldn't help feel a bit guilty. As far as she knew, the other hosts didn't know what had happened, but if they did, she had a feeling their reactions would be similar to their King's. Though she didn't understand why, they were worried. And, feeling she didn't warrant the attention, she didn't want them to be. She raised her eyebrows and spread the fork and knife. "How else would a possession of the Ootori's be expected to behave?" She set them down, albeit on the wrong sides.

Somehow, it made him uneasy to hear her say that. After the last few days,it just felt odd. Not that he would admit to it. "You're doing just fine." He replied.

She grinned, taking another bite. "Senpai," she ventured after a moment, "does your family know I'm here?"

"They would have a hard time understanding this arrangement." He replied. "While I won't have you confined to my room, I do ask that you try to avoid them until I can properly explain the situation." Not that he had any idea how to do _that._

She knew they'd bought people before; why was she any different? "I'll try my best. So they don't know I'm a whor-"

She stopped herself. She really wasn't; not anymore. Not for Senpai. In the past, yes, but not here. She cleared her throat, 'uhh'ing and trying to figure out how to restate that somehow.

He gave her a sharp look. "I don't want you referring to yourself in that manner in the future. Am I clear?"

She blinked, stunned. Softly, she responded with a faint, "Yes, Senpai," but her heart wasn't in it. Even if Senpai didn't use her for those... services, others had. If she'd been in the past, wasn't she still now? And if she wasn't, what was she? A spot landed on her hand before she realized she'd teared up.

Well, crap, there she goes again. It was like working with an unstable explosive. He let out a quiet sigh. "What's the matter?" He asked. He was done with the guessing and failing.

She shook her head. "Just me and my self-exploratory problems. Return to your breakfast."

Well, he couldn't just do _that_ now could he? But then, he had no idea how to go about discussing 'feelings.' It was something he spent his whole like avoiding. "I don't..." He struggled to find the proper words. "I don't enjoy seeing you cry."

Five words that's she'd never heard before. They actually began to push her more to tears as she remembered all the times she'd been encouraged, (mentally or physically) to cry. She fisted her hospital gown, (still unchanged), and choked out, "You'd... be... the f-first." She shook her head, swiping her arm across her face. "Please, ignored me. I'll be alright in a moment."

Kyouya's stomach was doing odd, twisty things. He looked away, as if suddenly transfixed by the lovely view outside the window across the room. "Don't be silly. I'm sure your father was the first."

She snorted. "I had nothing to cry about then." She'd regained her composure in record time, though she knew she would be doing some soul searching in the bath later.

"Perhaps." He replied, stealing a glance at her puffy eyes and red cheeks. Nope, still couldn't do it. "I would just... Appreciate it if you were happy, is all."

Huh. As if he couldn't conclude how high her happiness had swelled since she'd come here. "Okay." She stared into her tea, unable to conjure any other appropriate responses.

Kyouya adjusted his glasses. "Well. If that's that, then I'll be leaving now." He stood, leaving his half-eaten food for the maids to take care of.

She looked up quickly. She wanted to throw her arms up like a child and beg for 'hugs and kisses' before he left. Instead she just watched him, wide-eyed, hoping irrationally she would see him again. "When will you be back?" She of course, should have known the answer. She was mostly hoping he would forgo his club duties and come back earlier. That was probably a bit far-fetched, though.

"I'll leave right after the host club." He said, somewhat regretfully. Then again, maybe he could look into having it canceled for the day. Something about 'in support of Haruhi, who could not be with us today.' But then, that might get some of her adoring fans more worked up than he would care for.

She fell a bit. "Alright. Have a pleasant day, Senpai." She smiled, trying to look less melancholy than she felt.

He felt like a horrible person. That emotion got pushed aside as best as he could. If he could just go a day without thinking of her, he was sure he would make it through the week. She could handle herself, and she had all the servants to attend to her. So why, WHY, was he still hesitant to leave her?

She tried to ignore the emotions that made her want to rush up and cling to him like a baby koala. She wasn't sure she could run right now, anyway. She tried to turn away as he readied to leave, but ended up watching him out of the corner of her eye.

She could feel her watching. It was only for the day! So why did this feel so miserable? Both of them were being so completely irrational, and even knowing that, he couldn't help it. Sigh. This girl was doing things to him.

"Senpai!" She called suddenly, looking to him. "You, um, didn't correct my silverware manners." She grabbed two pieces of the stuff and held them at odd angles. "Shouldn't you fix it before you go?"

He looked back at her over his shoulder. Just as he was starting to think he could do this. "Well, that certainly won't do." He turned around, again reaching over her shoulders to hold her hands. "Like this."

She leaned in, relishing the pseudo-hug. "Mm-hmm. I must have gotten it backwards." He smelled really good.

"You'll get the hang of it." He said, lingering in that position just a little longer than was necessary. She was just so soft and warm... Not, thoughts going out the window. He let his hands slide off her hers. "Well. Take care, then."

She instantly felt a bit chilly, her skin tingling obnoxiously where he'd touched. "Take care." Haruhi shuffled over to a window, watching him leave all the way down the tree-lined driveway.

She would be fine, he told himself. She's an intelligent lady, and she was learning how to take care of herself. Her condition isn't even really THAT severe, he told himself.

He seemed to be ignoring himself.

Sighing, she abandoned the rest of her meal, (as _she_ didn't care about her food, and lunch was only a few hours away), and headed for the shower. On the way there, she stopped to find her phone; best to turn it all the way up, she mused. Just in case. (In case of _what_ she didn't know)

Once in the bathroom, she peeled off the gown carefully, knowing she'd slept in it oddly. She was about to turn on the water in the tub when she caught herself in the huge, wall-sized mirror. Had she always looked this pathetic? She traced her finger along the jutting hip bone, wondering what she would have looked like if she'd been raised normally. Certainly not like this, at least. (She avoided turning around; there was no reason to relive the past with her old scars... and the brand)

Was that her phone? She perked up, listening for any kind of ring tone. Deflating slightly, she reminded herself how soon he would be back. And how there was an entire police force behind him, should anything happen.

Akito was, as usual, a bit late to wake up. Understandable, as he worked rather late at times. He was quite puzzled to see not one, but two unfinished plates of food at the table. Father was on a business trip, and the servants ate in the kitchen, so who...? He smirked. Little brother, what are you up too?

She dipped a toe before stepping into the tub. She'd closed the bathroom door, but hadn't locked it, (because who in their right mind would come into Senpai's room without permission?), with the towel on the doorknob. The water was the perfect temperature, and she'd had to resist using the bath salts and rose petals conveniently in the cabinet. Sliding it was pure bliss, and she submerged up to her nose, sighing in delight.

He liked to pretend it was out of concern for his brother but, in reality, Akito was only snoopy around because he couldn't mind his own business. He crept into his brother's room. He wasn't sure what he expected to find (woman's clothes, maybe), but he would know it when he saw it.

From the other room, Haruhi heard her phone alert her to a new text message. _Dang it. It had to be as soon as I got in, too._ She glowered, debating whether or not she should go check it. It was probably just from Hikaru complaining about something. Or Tamaki-Senpai saying good morning. (Or Senpai texting her sweet odes of nothing... wait, no)

She sighed, standing up and bracing against the cold to retrieve her towel and go get that little demon device.

He heard the door open behind him. Without thinking much, he turned, mostly expecting to see his brother late for school and offer him a good teasing. What he found instead was endlessly more pleasurable.

"Excuse me?" He offered a social pleasantry, though he sounded absolutely confounded.

She stiffened at the voice instantly, her mind immediately notifying her that that was _not _Senpai. (Though he looked pretty similar, didn't he?)

"Good morning," She responded politely, wondering if this was the betrayal she'd been expecting. Maybe Senpai didn't want to break her himself; maybe he would have someone else do it for him. She gripped the towel more tightly around herself, unsure of the protocol of how she should treat this person. Without that knowledge, she just stood perfectly still, albeit watching him closely.

He made a valiant attempt to hide the grin on his face. Well, well, well, Kyouya, Mr. Above-it-all. "I'll ah, leave you to that, then." He stepped out of the room, for modesty's sake. When she was more properly attired, boy did he have some questions for her.

She stood for a second, breathing irregularly. Who was that? He had to be someone extremely brave, just waltzing into Senpai's room like that. Should she text Kyouya? Although she wanted to, she hesitated. What if running to him at every pin drop turned to him not wanting her to have the same liberties with him as she did now? She shuddered. That was the worst case scenario. Bravely, she stepped back into the bathroom, draining the tub in favor of the quicker shower, finishing in minutes. She'd never checked the text. Okay, if it was from Senpai, she would ask him who that person was.

Akito stood outside of Kyouya's bedroom, listening and pondering. His brother was a fairly practical person. This was highly abnormal. He thought about texting him, but he wasn't sure he ever read the texts he sent him, anyways. He was gonna regret that today.

'Who's the hot dish in your room?'

She dressed back in her two-sizes too big pajamas and curled up on the couch, picking a random book off of Senpai's shelf and hoping that person wouldn't come back. Unfortunately, the text had been an ad from the Black Magic Club about their free palm readings after school that day.

After a few moments, Akito knocked on the bedroom door. This proved to be a pointless gesture, as he opened the door himself, anyways. "Good morning." He greeted casually. "Terribly sorry, we haven't been properly introduced." And he'd already seen her naked. Funny how things worked sometimes.

She knew she was giving herself away. Wide-eyes, hands shivering against the book, the wooden way she was holding herself now. Did she go back to the script? Should she pretend she actually was a guest? A friend from school? No, he was being too forward, and it was throwing her for a loop. "I am your servant, Haruhi." She choked out, bowing from her seat politely, "Master...?" The script was embedded in her brain by now; even if she'd wanted to say something else, that would have probably popped out anyway.

"Oh yeah?" He came to take a seat next to her, looking her over as he did. "I was pretty sure I knew all of our employees."

She shuddered. He was too close- but if what he said was true, he was an Ootori, which would technically mean she had to obey him too, right? "My deep regrets, Ootori-sama."

She knew she was supposed to add, "I would have come immediately if I'd known your need," but she couldn't bring herself to. Why hadn't she texted Senpai? She needed him!

"Oh, please, call me 'Akito.'" He offered her a charming sort of smile. "I suppose we know my brother pretty well, hm?"

She was trying not to back away; men hated when you tried to resist. "No, Ootori-sama."

"Then what are you doing in his room?" He had the same perceptive eyes as Kyouya, and seemed to see right into her mind.

She knew she looked perplexed, and was out of practice, and didn't like how similar this man looked to Senpai, "I... belong to Ootori-sama. So I stay here, in his room." Lest we get our Ootoris mixed up.

Ah. And all the pieces fell into place. (So he thought.) "Hm. So this is what Kyouya's spending his club money on?" He reclined on the couch, resting his arm behind her head.

She knew she had to lean back, so he could feel like she was enjoying being with him. It took willpower, but she managed to do so, at least minutely. She frowned. "I don't know." Did he spent club money on her?

Hm. He wondered how father would feel about his son taking in this kind of trash. Of course, if this was a 'family plan' type of deal, who was he to tattle? "Well, I guess that'll be our little secret, eh? What are your plans for today?"  
>She bowed her head. "I am your servant Haruhi, Master Akito. I don't have plans; my master decides for me." She could almost hear Senpai promising her <em>just last night<em> that he would never let anyone else lay a hand on her.

"Well, Haruhi." He let his arm slide over her shoulder. "It's very nice to meet you." He nuzzled against her neck teasingly.

Her stomach lurched. "And you, Master." The inevitable. She didn't want to say it, and was trying very hard not to, but the script was the only thing she could think of. "Is there anything," Nonononono don't! "I could do for you, Ootori-Sama?"

"Well, now that you say it..." His nuzzling face traveled slowly up her neck. He nibbled on her ear. He would certainly like to kiss her, but there was no telling where that dirty mouth had been. He pulled her closer.

She tilted her head so he could get the best angle at the ear. Now she was supposed to tease, to flaunt. There was nothing in her that wanted to follow this procedure, and the thing that she kept drawing up in her mind was Senpai's disappointed face when he realized what she'd done. "Is that all you want, Master?" The tease had fallen from her tongue before she could stop it. Though she was in perfect position, (lips apart, legs slightly spread), she couldn't continue with the flirting, and didn't finish the customary line she was supposed to follow that up with.

"Oh, I think not." He pulled her ever closer, digging his fingers into her thigh. He attempted to pull her into his lap, still chewing tentatively on her ear.

She let herself be pulled closer, inwardly _freaking_ the crap _out_, but was the picture of perfection on the outside. She hated his teeth on her ear. She hated how disgusted he was, (she could tell, already!) of her mouth. She hated how he looked so much like Senpai, only wasn't and she most of all hated that Senpai had only just gone to school, so there was no hope of him coming in and fixing this. She knew where to insert moans of pleasure, and did so at appropriate times, egging him on.

Slowly, he sunk into a horizontal position, still hold her tightly, his hands greedily fondling every inch of her.

Over the sounds of his moaning, Haruhi's phone alerted her to a new text message.

She stiffened, clearly wanting to check her phone. Obviously, she couldn't just _stop_ when he was busy, but... she kept glancing in the direction of the device. "Ootori-Sama, I..." Her voice faded off. She couldn't just ask him to stop. She had no right.

"You what?" He asked. He might have liked a little pillow talk, now that he thought about it. He moved from here ear, sucking at her neck as his hands found her chest. Small though they may have been, they were still pleasantly soft.

She winced, her breasts extremely sensitive. This was when it got hard; when her fake moans mixed with real ones. Her only goal used to be to never let anyone discern between the two. You could control someone if you knew their weakness. "My, uh, phone. It got a new text, but it doesn't matter."

"Good." He replied. He was fast growing fond of her, as his lower body so clearly indicated. He received a text, as well, though that also went ignored.

She could feel the bulge. "Master, shall I... relieve you now?" Her phone rang, incessantly buzzing, which they both ignored.

"Heck yes." His hands began to work their way into her pants, trying desperately to get them off.

This was stupid. He was going to be late again. She would probably text him back at any minute. But after that somewhat ominous text from his brother... Knowing what his brother was like... No, he just couldn't leave it alone. He texted them both a few more times as the car made it's way back to the house

She was shutting it out. This couldn't be happening. Not here. Not in Senpai's room. Not after he'd _promised_. He promised! Never again, he'd said, and she'd stupidly believed him. At least Akito felt like a wimp, so he wouldn't take long to finish.

But really, did that matter? She didn't know if she'd betrayed Senpai or allowed this person to fulfill Senpai's wishes, but the seed of doubt was there. She honestly didn't know if she was desperately hoping for Senpai to come save her, or if she'd rather he didn't know at all. If this_ was_ his betrayal, She knew she couldn't let him see her rattled. Wasn't she expecting this all along, anyway?

Akito moaned softly, rolling her over onto her back. He towered over her now, looking down on her as things should be. He slid his hands down her legs, taking her pants with them.

The door swung open. His hyper-vigilance returning to him, Kyouya identified the problem immediately. "Off. Now." He growled. This alone was enough to cause Akito to pause. He'd never heard his brother speak like that to him.

Haruhi had been focused on the chill her bare legs were experiencing when she heard his voice. Her eyes snapped to find his face, desperately calling, "Senpai!" in relief and, yeah, some fear. The other thoughts had fled her mind leaving only sincere gratitude at seeing his face.

Akito straightened his back, still straddling her on the couch. "Shouldn't you be at school?" He asked. "I'm only keeping her entertained until her 'Master' comes home."

Kyouya looked only seconds away from physical violence. "I said: get off." He approached, more than ready to shove him off if he had to.

He sounded so angry. Was that really for her? She kept quiet, wincing at Akito's weight on her hips.

Akito obliged his little brother. giving him a bit of a smirk. "Well, I'm keeping your secret. The least you could do is share."

He ignored his brothers comments, offering a hand to Haruhi. "Are you alright?"

She took it hesitantly. "Master Akito hadn't done anything yet, Senpai." She couldn't look him in the eye. She felt dirtier than ever before, the feeling only compounded by his kind question.

That much was obvious. But that was hardly the point. The fact that he'd tried...That fact that she was about to _let_ him. This was just... To much. He turned a dark eye on his brother. "Akito. This girl is not here for your, or anyone else's enjoyment." He careful enunciated his words, and though he was cool and formal, his voice had a dangerous edge to it. "In the future, please refrain from touching her. Or entering my room uninvited."

"No one else, huh?" He laced his fingers. "No even you?"

She was shaking. From her fingers to her her toes, her whole body was quivering. Had she done something wrong? This was too much to process; but she was curious, too. What _about_ Senpai?

_Especially_ not me, he told himself.

"She isn't that type of woman anymore." He replied.

"Is that so?" Akito crossed his arms, peering over the rim of his glasses at the two. "I think you might wanna ask your Fair Maiden about that herself. She was practically begging."

"Get out." Kyouya said once more. "I imagine you have more pressing matters to take care of."

Akito rose his hands in surrender. "Fine. It's none of my business what you waste your time and resources on." He made his way out of the room, tossing a quick aside over his shoulder before he left. "It is, however, father's business." He closed the door behind him.

She couldn't have been more ashamed of herself than in that moment. Why had she thought Senpai would betray her? (At least like this) Her face was wet before she realized she was crying, and she felt as if she should say something. Apologize! No, that wasn't enough. "I-I-I-I," she paused, trying to control her crying, "I'm sorry. I did not want to."

Kyouya turned his gaze to her. All of that former aggression melted at the sight of her tears. "I know you didn't." He replied, exhaling some of his stress. He looked away. "Get dressed, Haruhi. I'll stay with you today."

She could have melted at his words. No harsh words? No anger at her submission? Just skipping school to allow her safety? She did realize that she wasn't wearing pants anymore, and colored. "Thank you, Senpai." Her voice was very, very, quiet. She was afraid of seeing the possessive bite marks she probably had now, so she forwent the bathroom and just pulled back the pajama pants she'd had on before. Absolutely mortified didn't even begin to describe her feelings at that point.

"I meant what I said this morning." Kyouya continued, stern but still somehow affectionate. "You're nobody's whore, you understand?"

She nodded, than shook her head. "I wanted to s-say no. Senpai, I wanted to stop him, or call you." Her eyes were fixed on the floor. "But I couldn't." Maybe that's what life's purpose for her was; trying to change who she was wouldn't be possible, then.

Kyouya simply nodded. Go-getter that he was, he didn't entirely understand. But there were a lot of things he didn't understand about her that he was learning how to deal with. "Well, it won't happen again, I assure you." His brother was going to get some very strong words.

Her head was pounding with a new headache. She ran her fingers over her forehead, thinking sitting down would probably be the best thing right now. "Senpai, may I rest now?" Best to ask. She absolutely couldn't take any more trauma right at this moment.

"Yes, of course you can." He replied. He had to make a phone call to the King, anyways. "I'll keep an eye on you."

She nodded slightly, to not further her headache, and began to sit down on the couch. About halfway down, she realized what had just happened on that piece of furniture and immediately started to stand back up. Unfortunately, she possessed the bare minimum of coordination, and ended up falling to the ground, thumping against the side of the couch. That was going to leave a bruise.

Kyouya winced sympathetically (that was new.) He slid his phone back into his pocket for the time being. "Come on." He sighed. What was he going to do with her? He helped her to her feet, guiding her to the bed.

"I was- where he..." She held his arm, feeling all at once how weak she'd become. Sighing, she said, "I couldn't sit there."

"You're fine, Haruhi. I understand." He made a mental note to have a new couch brought in when he had the time. He was rich enough to pull that kind of stunt. "Just try not to think about it."

She crawled up onto the bed awkwardly, a new set of aches making themselves known. When she was settled, she nodded and affirmed quietly, "Yes, Senpai." She absolutely didn't want him to leave her sight today. That fact, combined with the ordeal she'd encountered, gave her a strange mix of sleepiness and vigilance. She didn't plan to take her eyes off of Senpai, not if she could help it.

For the time being, he placed himself on the side of the bed. He could tell right away that she would be having nightmares today. He would just have to stick around for a bit. He sent Tamaki a very terse text.

'Sick. Highly contagious. DON'T visit me.'

She half-wished he could come and sit nearer, but the thought of being touched was a bit unnerving, even if it was Senpai. She cleared her throat. "What are you going to do?"

"At the moment? Keep watch on you." He replied. "In the future? I've yet to decide. It may be pertinent to leave you with your father during the days until you can start coming to school with me, if my brother refuses to reason."

Even with the immediate threat of Akito being present, she still didn't really want to go back to her father's house. It was Senpai though, and she was prone to agree with him, no matter what he said. "Alright." She wanted him to stay, but didn't know how to ask. She wished he could just stay and sooth her with his voice, all day. Instead of asking, she shifted awkwardly onto her stomach, trying not to purposefully call up pain more than needed.

Kyouya kept his feet on the floor, sprawling his upper body out on the bed. His thoughts were racing, and it dawned on him that this was one of the rare occasions where he simply didn't know what to do. He had no authority over his brother, and he couldn't pull any property laws, as slave trade was illegal in the first place. Perhaps bribery, but that hardly meant anything to Akito, rich and unambitious as he was.

Maybe he should have just never gotten out of bed this morning.

"Do you think that he was serious?" She propped her head up on one hand, unintentionally giving stage to the marks on her neck, "About your father?" What would happen if Ootori-San found out about her? What if he just ordered her for communal use? Akito would have claim to her then, and Senpai wouldn't be able to stop him. She shivered. Even worse, what if he ordered her sold away, with all the problems she caused? Would she never _see_ Senpai again? Her breathing quickened, her mood completely opposite of her relaxed-looking position.

Kyouya shifted, the thought making him just a touch uncomfortable. He certainly hoped not. But then, Akito was more than eager to tell father about his hosting activities as soon as he found out. If he reacted badly to that, what would he think of this?

Well, he surpassed his brothers in one area, at the very least.

"That's not for you to worry about." He replied. No sense giving her the gritty details. "I will see to it that nothing happens to you."

She found herself blinking rapidly, unsure of what to think. She desperately wanted to just be able to _trust_ someone for once, but her worries were far too...nearby for the release of it all. She was quiet for a moment before laying back down, her face away from him. "No one has ever..." No. She didn't want to grovel. He didn't like that. "Thank you Senpai. For saving me." She was going to say more, but her voice fizzled out near the end.

He knew what she was going to say. It really was troubling, how much this girl had been through. He sighed. "You're welcome." He said quietly. It was only a natural thing to do. He dearly hoped she would come to see it that way. Stop idolizing him as such a wonderful person.

One thing she was especially thankful for today was this bed. She knew from experience how painful it was to recover from injury without proper rest, which would generally require a proper resting_ place_. She knew she would probably limp a little all her life from twisted hips trying to heal on the ground. She wanted to stay awake, but the bed was too nice, and Akito's presence in the house too daunting to _not_ want to escape for a bit. She slipped away, still thinking about how great this bed was.

Kyouya drew his legs up onto the bed, rolling over to look at her. Even in her sleep, she look like such a sad, pathetic thing. He wondered if she could ever be normal after a life like hers.

Even if she couldn't, though... At least he would be there for her.

He put that thought out of his mind. How silly. As if she would stick around once her debt was paid. He hoped she wouldn't. She deserved to go free after all of that, do as she wished, unrestricted. And, he admitted, he wasn't sure how long he would be able to keep his hands off of her.

_I'm only keeping her entertained until 'Master' comes home..._ His face was leering too close, _Well, Haruhi. It's very nice to meet you..._ Where did that boy go? The nice one?

Only, she knew there never had been. There had only been hands, all over her, and her body on fire with pain as the laughter floated above her head. It was close enough to join in with, but it wasn't for her. Laughing was for when you hurt her, not for Haruhi. Can we stop now? _Oh, I think not..._ She saw his face, so familiar but not and she couldn't tell why. I was waiting for someone to come, actually. _Well, now that you say it..._ She saw those glasses glint, and knew no one was coming for her, not ever, _It's me._

Kyouya returned to his room a few hours later. Akito was often an enigma to him. He could be reasonably sure, however, that he was safe at least until his father returned from his business trip. Big though this news might be, they both knew it was not worth interrupting Father. Very little was. He looked to Haruhi. She looked troubled. He wondered if maybe he should wake her.

He leaned over the bed. "Haruhi?"

She groaned, feeling pain from a dozen people all at once. "Can't..." She couldn't tell what was real. "I... can't..."

He reached down, taking her by the shoulder. "Haruhi, I'm here, remember?"

Her eyes were intent on not opening, so she fought off the monsters for a few more lonely seconds before she saw Senpai above her, his hand on her shoulder. Her dreams skipped away, unaware of the tremors they left her body with, and the only hand left was Senpai's. She blinked hard and coughed. "Here?"

"Right beside you." He replied. He shouldn't have left her side just yet. He wondered how long she was caught in that nightmare... He tried not to wonder to long. "It's alright."

She let the vibrations pass before she attempted to sit up. "It was only you here?" She meant of course, in the room, not that her idolized Senpai was 'only' in any sense of the word. The option that she may have just offended him didn't even cross her mind.

"Yes, only me." He replied. He knew what she meant. "You can go back to sleep."

She nodded, wanting to obey him, but the thought of sleep was almost as scary as the thought of Akito coming back. "Can please-" She shook her head, trying to regain grasp on her linguistics. "Would you... read to me? Senpai?" She didn't mean to, but her face was so hopeful it could almost have been a puppy pout. "If not..."

Oh, geez. How was he supposed to say no to that? "I could. Although, I'm not sure if there's anything about that would be of interest to you." He glanced at his bookshelf across the room. It was full of nothing but medical texts and research journals.

She didn't care. "That doesn't matter." She blinked hard again, suddenly smiling dimly at him. "Maybe I'll learn something new?" Or she could simply bask in his wonderful, relaxing vocals, and relish the fact it was only for her, at least for the moment.

An unusual response. But then, she was an unusual girl. "Very well." He crossed the room to take one of the easier books from the shelf. Pre-med. Alright, good enough. He returned, placing himself at the foot of the bed, and opening the book.

She had hoped he would come and sit by her, (it was _his_ bed, after all), but was content enough to just listen as he opened the book and read the title. Listening to Senpai was like hearing beautiful music, (not to sound overly affectionate...) only the notes were harder to identify and the lyrics hidden behind thick, glinting sarcasm. She didn't want to fall back asleep.

Kyouya read the words, his voice clear and pronounced with practiced public speaking. Ever now and then, he would pause, giving her an aside explanation for certain terms. He wasn't sure how she could be enjoying herself, but she didn't seem opening bored.

While having never studied something with this specific set of complexities, Haruhi's mind was whirring with this new set of data she'd never taken in before. Though she hadn't had the opportunity, she very much enjoyed learning, and the added luxury of Senpai as her stand-in teacher was very mind-exhilarating, to say the least.

Finally, he came to the end of the opening chapter. "I hope that wasn't too boring for you." Although, she was still awake, so he supposed it couldn't have been that bad.

She's been concentrating so hard it took a second to shake herself out of the medical reverie. "No," She said, cuddled deep under the covers. "It was fascinating. The importance of some of those points had never even crossed my mind before. The implications are enormous if you combine them with even the slightest miscalculation, aren't they?"

He smiled, with an intrigued eyebrow raise. "Indeed. You've got quite a good head on your shoulders." He reached over to set the book on the nightstand. "Perhaps we'll read more later."

It was slightly disappointing to stop, but dulled by his overly-kind compliment. "Alright," she said quietly. It was midday, wasn't it? Actually, a cup of tea sounded heavenly. "Are you going to eat lunch now?"

He nodded. "Shall I have it brought here, or would you like to stretch your legs a bit?"

Her eyes widened slightly with the implication of having to face that man again. "...I'm not hungry."

"Even so, you should at least make some effort to eat something." He reached for the house phone. "Your anemic, remember?"

She huffed. _That_. "Well, I would like some tea?" That wasn't going to satisfy him.

"I will have some tea sent up with your lunch." He said curtly, picking up the phone to call the staff downstairs. It was that kind of establishment.

As long as she didn't have to leave the room. "Thank you," she said faintly. She was beginning to realize how filthy she felt, even with her recent shower. This afternoon might be calling for a bath. Wait, he was going to eat with her, wasn't he? "Where will you eat, Senpai?"

"I'm having my lunch sent up, as well." He replied. He slipped out of his school jacket, almost forgetting he was wearing the thing.

The jacket had been restrictive, anyway. She'd watched shyly, a faint wish passing that she would have liked to have helped him with it. "Okay," she responded, not wanting to give away her worries of him suddenly going out and leaving her alone.

She didn't have to voice her concerns. She wore them all over her tired face. Just for today, he would indulge her. She needed it right now.

Soon, the butler came, a tray with their meals in hand. Kyouya motioned for him to set it on the nightstand and leave.

She began to sit up stiffly, thinking to eat on the floor so as not to spill on Senpai's lush bed. She really was sore, though, and her attempts just allowed her the dignity of falling hastily to the floor. Instead of sitting up, she sighed and tried to find her tea cup with her hand from the floor.

Kyouya sighed. "Haruhi, you're not an animal." He lifted his own teacup. "It's very undignified to sit on the floor like that."

She glared at nothing in particular and wished he could understand she'd never been allowed to _touch_ anything in Arai-Sama's run-down apartment, much less been _invited_ to learn manners and sit at tables and sleep on couches, and even less beds. She righted herself, taking the tea cup. "If Senpai doesn't mind, I'm more comfortable where I can't make a mess too pressing." She sipped her tea, heart pounding when she realized how she'd just spoken to him.

"Do try to watch your tone." Kyouya responded. "The sheets can be changed, if need be. The carpet, however, would take a good deal more work."

The way this person processed the world was a bit infuriating, if not intoxicatingly interesting sometimes. Slowly, she stood up with the tea cup, and placed herself on the edge of the bed. She didn't say anything, feeling absolutely dastardly for not apologizing for her tone.

He noticed that. It was always interesting when she acted outside of her role as a slave. Maybe there was hope for her, yet. He took a light sip of his tea. "Isn't that much better?"

Maybe this is what teenagerdom was supposed to feel like. She felt like rolling her eyes and spouting off something vaguely offensive. Wait, what was she thinking? Her lofty thoughts shriveled, leaving way for more normal things, like groveling and wishing she wasn't so stupid. "Yes. Thank you."

He reclined against his headboard as he sipped at his tea. Maybe agitating her a bit her would take her mind off of things. Either way, he could see she was on the mend. She was strong like that. "I would like you to at least take a few bites, as well as your supplements."

She nodded, gagging at the thought of pills. Maybe she could finish her tea fist, and forgo the food? Nothing about right now particularly screamed, 'EATING!'

She was a bit perplexed at how to approach Senpai with the question she'd been chewing over. She knew he _could_ do it, but she didn't know if he _should_. Or if she could just let him. In any case, she gathered up the courage to ask, "Senpai, I know you're very intelligent in the medical field, and I was wondering..." Come on, you can do this. Only a few more words until he shoots you down. "I was wondering if you would... checkmeoverforinjuries." She'd gotten through the question, albeit a bit more rushed than she'd meant for.

His ears almost immediately went warm, followed by his thoughts going to the gutter once more. He pushed that though aside. "Why hadn't you mentioned you were in pain?" He set his teacup down, climbing out of bed. "I suppose I'm skilled enough for that much at least, but..." He fiddled with his glasses. "Do you know what that would entail?"

She twisted the end of her nightshirt distractedly. "Um, I, yes. You would have to look me over sans any covering as to ensure you didn't miss anything important." She was _extremely_ aware of this fact. She glanced at her food, secretly hoping it would go unnoticed with this new distraction. "If that's acceptable to you."

Even the description of such an act proved to be just a little more stimulating than he would have liked. Even so, her well being was his responsibility, and he was not going to take her to a hospital if he didn't have to. She didn't seem to care for them.

"Very well. If you would..." He found something to stare at on the other side of the room. "Disrobe."

She stared at the door to the room. "May we..." Even the thought of someone walking in while they were... in dispose was terribly frightening. "Lock the door?"

He nodded, crossed the room without a word, and turned the lock. "There." He spoke into the door, just very momentarily letting his head rest against it, mentally preparing himself to behave well.

She unbuttoned the shirt with shaking fingers. As she'd never dressed for the day, she wasn't wearing a bra underneath. When the shirt was undone, she paused, hands undecidedly moving back and forth before she decided to leave it be, for now.

As had happened once before today, her pants were being removed in the presence of an Ootori. She didn't want to take her underwear off unless needed, so she stood, shivering, waiting for Senpai to return.

Slowly, he looked over his shoulder at her. Oh, there she was. He hadn't seen her like this since day one. He was pleased to see that she had put on a bit of weight since that day. And that was all he was going to focus on for the moment. He turned, trying to keep his gaze elsewhere for as long as possible for her sake. "Where does it hurt the most?"

The obvious places, of course. "My hips are sore. I think there might be finger bruises." She hadn't had those in ages.

The thought of his brother leaving his disgusting prints on such a sensitive place was infuriating. He blood began to rush even faster, which wasn't helping the situation. He paused for a short moment to center himself one more, before coming to check her out.

She breathed in softly at his proximity. She oftentimes would draw as close to him as social politeness, (as much as they could follow that in this situation), would allow. He however, wouldn't purposefully come to her unless the time demanded. Not that that was a bad thing. But his breath so close now was heavenly.

He noted the bruises, not only on her hips but traveling up her sides, as well. Evidence of that man was all over her soft, fragile body. Most offensive of all, perhaps, was the big, red, hickey behind her ear. That would be tricky to cover up if she had to go back to school any time soon. He muttered a quiet curse.

His fingers were ghosting along hr skin, making it excruciatingly hard to keep still. Or quiet. When he swore, she looked to him shyly. "Is there something bad?" She'd been through worse, she was sure. But something about being with Senpai had turned her soft, making each bruise seem more offensive and cruel. (That, of course, being rhetoric from people who didn't understand her place in life, her training reminded her)

He took a step back. "No. You have a few bruises, but it's all very minor." His fingertips itched. It wasn't enough. He just wanted to touch her. To steal her away from his brother, and keep her to himself. He could hear his own pulse, begging him to take her.

He fought against his every instinct. "I'll have some painkillers sent up once you've gotten dressed."

She could hear everything from her heartbeat to Senpai's quick breathing. "The bruises are why my hips are so painful?" They really were aching, although she kind of just wanted his fingers on her again.

"Well, they're not dislocated." He replied. He really wished she would put her clothes on. "I can't imagine he's strong enough to fracture them. I could check, if you'd like." He almost choked at the thought.

Of _course_ she wanted him to check them; just a minute more of indulgence with his hands on her, medical reasons or not. Logically though, she knew that they were probably fine. (Unfortunately?)

"...Only if you think it's necessary." She answered after wavering a moment. "I haven't studied the symptoms of dislocation, so I wouldn't know how much help I need." Okay, so that sounded awkward. At least she'd thrown the responsibility to decide back on Senpai.

He should say no. He knew, he KNEW that he wasn't doing this strictly for medical purposes. No matter how much he cared for her well being, every physical interaction of theirs was going to have a sexual undertone to him.

But, even so, her health was involved. "Very well. Hold still a moment." As softly as he could, he placed his hands on her hips, gently probing the bones and joints with careful fingertips.

It occurred to her as she tried not to react pleasurably, that she wouldn't have to pretend with Senpai. She wouldn't need to. From a strictly business point of view, if he wanted her, he could take her and she wouldn't have to pretend to enjoy herself whatsoever. It was a bit unnerving.

He was gentle. She couldn't remember a time when she'd been treated so gently, (at least in _that_ region of her body), and his hands almost felt relaxing to her. She drank it in, knowing that this kind of interaction wouldn't be happening again anytime soon.

His hands lingered just a little longer than they needed to, his skin just a little warmer than it should have been (it felt to him like it was on fire.) But, slowly, finally, he did pull away. "It looks like you're alright."

She breathed out heavily as his hands left her. "Thank you for checking, Senpai." She tried to reinstate her normal voice. It occurred to her how much she'd caused him to do today. "Do I owe you anything?" It was hesitant, remembering their conversation that morning, but the fact in her mind was that her debt was _not_ repaid. Her hands were poised at the first button of her shirt, either to take it off the rest of the way, or button it again.

He stepped back again, lowering his shaking hands to his sides. He raised one again, jitteringly adjusting his glasses. "A little under eight million yen." He replied, coolly. "If you would excuse me." He made for the bathroom.

She blinked, then dressed herself again quickly. Where'd her tea go? She could guess what was going on in the other room, and was a bit baffled. Although, Senpai wasn't a normal member of the male species, so she crawled back into the bed and sipped another luke-warm tea as if nothing had happened.

A few moments later, Kyouya reemerged. He was quite glad to see her fully-clothed again. (Well, not that glad.) He adjusted his glasses once more, playing it casual. He picked up the phone again, requesting some mild painkillers be brought up. "They should help you sleep tonight, as well."

This tea was fascinating. "Alright." The thought of the couch was repulsive at this point. "May I... sleep in the guest bedroom?"

"You're fine as you are." He replied. He had no qualms about sleeping on the couch. He certainly wasn't going to share a bed with her after all that. And he DEFINATELY wasn't sending her off to one of the guests rooms. They were closer to Akito's wing.

Relief washed over her. "Thank you so much!" she said before she could think anything through. She looked back into her tea. It had a little floaty in it, moving back and forth, back and forth. There was no doubt in her mind that she would have been fighting monsters all night away from Senpai.

Kyouya fell onto the couch. That was an exhausting activity. Soon,the butler came with the requested painkillers and some fresh, warm tea. He accepted them, and sent the butler away, locking the door once more. Just in case.

She took them without a problem, hoping they would kick in quickly. She wondered how the school day had gone. Actually... "Senpai, do the others know?" She winced a bit and added, "I mean, why do they think we're both out?"

"They know about your anemia." He checked his phone, in case Tamaki had replied while he'd been otherwise preoccupied. "It's quite common to pick up viruses in hospitals, so it's not entirely implausible that I came down with something after yesterday." He just hoped to heaven that none of them thought to visit her house to check up on her.

She _hmm'd_ distantly. Senpai had picked up his own phone, making her wonder where she'd left her own. With the over-excitement the other hosts were prone to, she knew they were very lucky that none of them had stopped by so far. (Although where did they think she lived?) "Alright. Will I go to school tomorrow?" She felt as if she asked Senpai things like others asked fortune tellers.

The magic eight ball answered. "We'll see how you're feeling tomorrow." He glanced at the tray the butler had brought earlier. "There's going to be no improvement if you don't eat."

She groaned audibly. Hadn't she been through enough? She knew she _should_ be hungry, but her stomach seemed to be doing flip-flops whenever she thought of food. "Fine." She reached for the tray, taking the fork and knife properly, as if to show she was perfectly capable, just unwilling.

"Thank you." Somehow, he didn't sound entirely sincere. The club must be busy today. Not a single, overbearing message with too-long emoticons and tenuous at best grammar asking him if he was dying yet. He placed his phone on the coffee table, watching Haruhi like a parent with a picky child.

She cut the chicken up so small that each piece could fit on one prong of the fork. But she was eating, right? This was good! She ate with lack of speed enough to bore anyone watching. (And hopefully allow them the opportunity of distraction so she could dump the rest in her napkin and pretend she was done)

"You're not doing yourself any favors." He relaxed a bit, all of the awkwardness slowly (painfully, tortuously slowly) finally starting to drain from the room. "You're just making it last longer."

So he was planning on waiting her out, was he? She took another dainty bite. "I like eating this way." That wasn't true. It wasn't true, and she had just lied to her Senpai blatantly. She wasn't sure how to feel about that.

"Oh really?" He asked. "Because I recall lunch yesterday being an entirely different affair." Hm. Was it creepy that he just watched her eat sometimes? No, why should it be?

Wow, had that only been yesterday? She sighed, wanting to apologize, and scooped a huge (for her) mound of the mixture into her mouth. It was a bit repulsive, having her mouth that full, but she didn't want to upset Senpai. He'd been too darn kind all day, and she was acting like a bratty child who didn't get their way. Her sensitive gag reflex kicked in a few times, causing little bouts of heaving, but the food was gone in a few minutes. She wiped her mouth, shuddering.

"Well done." Again, he sounded just a little bit sarcastic. "You'll get used to it once your stomach is more used to eating."

She nodded, wishing very much to throw the plate across the room. "Yes, Senpai." Oh lord, she hoped they wouldn't have to do the same thing with dinner.. Instead of firing her eating utensils through space, she simply set it all aside and curled up on the bed, facing Senpai.

"How's the pain?" He asked, if only to get a conversation going to get rid of that ridiculous pout.

She did a mental check to see where the most pressing throbs were coming from. It seemed to have dulled considerably, at the very least. "I'll be fine. I've dealt with much worse without resources before." She wanted to say she'd done it without him, but couldn't admit in any sense how much she relied on him now.

"I'm sure you have." He replied quietly. He tried not to dwell on the statement for too long.

She watched him for a moment, wanting to talk, but hesitant to bring anything specific up. The quietness needed to be broken, though. "Senpai," she began, "tell me about the girls you've dated." She didn't know where it came from, but she was pretty interested now that she thought of it. What if Senpai had dated around a lot? Who had it been with? Did they still talk?

He looked somewhat taken aback by the question. It seemed on odd time to bring something like that up. He got over it quickly, however. "I decided at a young age that I would focus on my academics before entering such a relationship."

"No one?" She raised an eyebrow, wondering if he was playing games with her. One look at his face told her otherwise, though. "That's hard to believe considering how han-" she stopped her musing, clearing her throat. "That's hard to believe."

He smirked to himself, just a little. Really now?

"I simply haven't had the time, nor the interest."

She propped herself up on an elbow. "But there are plenty of girls who like you; I've seen them. Didn't you ever just try going out with one?" She'd seen them, alright. Their desperate, hungry expression expressions sometimes. It was a bit frightening.

He looked almost offended at the suggestion. "Those empty-headed girls are hardly the proper material to wed the Ootori family's future patriarch." The sad part was that he didn't have a trace or irony in his face. He was a humble man.

Even at his lofty words, she couldn't disagree. Though it _did_ send a soft pang through her that _she_ was also definitely not the proper material, either. Not that she'd thought about marriage, but hearing him mention it was a bit unsettling. He would have to get married eventually, wouldn't he? What would happen to her then? She certainly wouldn't have paid off her debt yet. Would he keep her around for kicks? Or maybe he would sell off the rest of her debt to someone else and she wouldn't see him again, or have a protector, and would have to live with the fact that someone else could fulfill his needs better than she could. She shuddered, not aware of how transparent she was with her emotions.

"Yeah," she said quietly, "I suppose you'll need someone on the same level as you, won't you Senpai?" It didn't occur to her that he would have never bad-mouthed the other students with someone he didn't trust, (though that could be due to her obligation to stay quiet...).

"Well, that _is_ the expectation, isn't it?" But then, he'd been doing quite a few things, lately, that weren't 'expected' of him.

True, there were certain woman of a high status that would make suitable brides on paper. But they thought of spending his life with someone so shallow and stupid made him cringe. If they were to be together until death, he at least wanted someone quiet. Or someone who could keep up an intellectually stimulating conversation.

Both traits of Haruhi's, now that he thought about it. He didn't think about it too hard. That was just silly.

She her head fall back to the pillow softly. Now that the thought had arisen, she was beginning to panic a bit at the thought of being sold again. Maybe a change of subject would be helpful. "So... when does your father arrive home?" Dang it, that wasn't helpful at all. She controlled her (now)labored breathing with expert capabilities, hoping he wouldn't notice.

He glanced at the calendar. "By the end of the week." He replied. The date suddenly felt ominous, like something hanging over his head. He supposed, in reality, it wouldn't be hard to get rid of her before then. It surprised him how much he really didn't want to.

She watched him with unwavering eyes. "Do I have to meet him?" The thought was overwhelming; she could feel her heart hammering almost painfully against her chest.

"Not if I can avoid it." He replied. "But the chances of that are looking fairly slim." The thought gave him a headache. It couldn't have been that he wanted her more than the family throne. That was all he wanted in life.

Wasn't it?

She breathed deeply, attempting to gather her thoughts. "Then I," she set her jaw firmly, the thought of Senpai's disgruntled voice infiltrating her head, "Will meet him with all the grace and charm you've taught me, Senpai. I will do my best to act like a true servant of the Ootori's, and not disappoint you."

He smiled, just a bit. It almost made the situation seem less hopeless. "I would expect nothing less of you, Haruhi."

Somehow, he would make this work. Kyouya Ootori was not one to give up.

Even if his smile was a bit dim, his words warmed her. He _must_ care about her, right? He was going through all this to help her; he wouldn't just do that for some random off the street? (Oh wait...)

"So," she said, trying to brighten the mood, "How will I greet him?" (This wasn't the most _happy_ topic, but it wasn't completely depressing, right?)

"You will address him formally, as 'Ootori-san.' He won't appreciate it if you grovel." He went over formal introductions in his head. It had become so second nature to him that thinking of the process was like thinking about how to breath. "Bow from the waist, but not for to long. It's important that you regain eye contact."

She wiggled up, listening carefully. 'Formal' to her was with some inclusion of 'Master' somewhere. "I'll try not to grovel, Senpai." She considered the bow than asked, "So I'm not to speak to him as a slave?" That_ was_ what she was, after all. If she was doing things properly, she wouldn't get away with such casualness. If Senpai wanted it this way, though...

"You are his inferior, but you are not his slave." Kyouya replied. He knew that she was capable of showing some backbone, deep inside. "There is a fine line between knowing your place and appearing weak." His father did not like weakness.

She cocked one eyebrow, wishing she had the same kind of power her mother had. "Of course. I will not show weakness, then. Do you think he'll ask me questions?"

"Perhaps." Kyouya replied. "If he does, don't lie. He'll know." Better to tell an ugly truth than look like you're hiding something worse.

She set her expression. "I won't lie. But..." She tried to force as much coyness into her question as she could, to replace the nervousness, "Will you do most of the talking?"

"I'll say all that I can." Kyouya replied. "But you are the one under the microscope. He'll want to hear it from you."

Her stomach twisted. "And," her voice lowered, "do you think he'll approve of what he sees?"

He tried to look more optimistic about it than he felt. "We'll find out."

She sat for a moment, processing and filing. "If he orders me away Senpai, I won't disappoint you. I'll go and I won't show weakness." The sheet was twisted under her nervous fingers.

"It won't come to that." No, it might. But Kyouya would do everything in his power to stop it. "I am your master, not him."

It was the first time that those words were of comfort instead of specifically designed to hurt her. She smiled, looking up at him. "You are." Nothing else really needed to be said to that; she knew that it _Senpai_ was apprehensive about someone, they were a great force to be reckoned with, and maybe even too large for him. It was hard to imagine.

"Now." He stood. That was quite enough of that talk. "Shall we read some more?"

"Yes," She brightened, grateful for something else to concentrate her mind on. "The same book?"

"If you'd like." He replied. "You seem to be understanding it well enough."

"I like it," she answered honestly, "Arai-san-, I mean, my master's brother used to tell me about how he wanted to be a doctor, and it always sounded so interesting." Was that too much information? He didn't care about that, did he? She pulled the sheet up higher.

Arai? He would have to look into that one. He did like to have the most complete picture he could manage. "Have you thought about what you're going to do with your future yet?"

Future? Up until now, she'd been on a day-to-day basis, or even minute-by-minute when needed. Although, she'd always admired her mother's work. Was she cut out to be a lawyer, though? "Not extensively, in any sense." She looked up at him, wondering what she looked like to him, (he probably could only notice the hickeys, bags under her eyes, and slightly-too-skinny figure), "But I always loved hearing my Mother give her cases in the courtroom."

Kyouya nodded. He thought as much. "You'll make a fine lawyer one day." He said, before cracking up the book to chapter two.

She tried not to linger on his words. He might just be trying to boost her morale for the end of the week, anyway. Instead, she gave her full attention to the next chapter, happy for the stimulating distraction.

* * *

><p>AN: Ahh! I know anemia isn't the most interesting thing to faint over! 8D But I've been loving the reviews! I have to say, I was completely impressed that you all got to eight so quickly; so I'll make a similar demand for this chapter. While the next section has a lot of editing that has to be done, I will try my best to have it out my the 10th review. Does that sound fair? I loves you all!


	18. Car

"Men," The Host Club King motioned determinedly, "It is our duty to go cheer Haruhi up in her time of need. Who has ideas on what we can bring her?"

Hikaru held up the stack of cards their guests had made. "We've got the Get Well cards."

"Cake makes everybody feel better!" Huni cheered. "I'll bring the cake!"

"Come to think of it..." Kaoru pondered. "Where does Haruhi actually live?"

Mori held up the balloons. "Balloons."

Tamaki laughed. "She's staying with Kyouya, of course! It only makes sense with their relation to each other!"

"Relation?'" Well, this sounded suspicious.

"Alright! Let's go!" Huni bounced excitedly.

Tamaki led them away, spouting chatter about how much _better_ Haruhi would feel and how _depressed_ and _lonely _she must feel now.

Hikaru pulled at Kaoru's arm. "What do you think that relation thing is all about? Do you buy it?"

"It's the first I've heard of it." Kaoru whispered. "Do you think that's how he got the boss off his back about it the other day?"

He shrugged. "It could be. I say you and I keep out eyes open and gather as much information as we can."

"Roger that." Kaoru gave his twin a thumbs up. Without another word on the subject, he climbed into the car with the rest of the club

They'd just finished the second chapter when Haruhi realized how late it was getting. It was almost a proper supper time, and she felt as if she'd just choked down lunch. "That was fascinating, Senpai." She kind of wished she'd had a notepad to write some of those facts down.

"I'm glad you're enjoying it." He replied. He slipped the bookmark back into it's proper place and checked his watch. "Akito should be at his evening class by now. Perhaps we should go have supper."

Akito was gone? That was good news. She wondered how long his classes ran for, blocking out the possibility of running into him again in the halls. "Okay," She sighed. Eating was going to take some getting used to; her stomach still felt full. Or at least, full enough.

Tamaki knew the house staff, and was genuinely liked by most of them. He breezed past them, the rest of the club in tow. "Now, be gentle, men. We don't want to startle her."

Hikaru looked around, commenting through the side of his mouth, "We seem to be going directly to Kyouya's quarters."

Kaoru felt just a little uncomfortable. You didn't keep you 'cousin' or whatever in your personal quarters.

Kyouya guided her out of the room. She needed to get out and stretch her legs, anyways.

She laughed a little. "You think I'll be able to walk without a full support system soon, Senpai?" She muttered, holding his arm.

Tamaki stopped. What was-? She was holding his arm... in pajamas. "Kyouya? What are you doing to my precious daughter?"

Hikaru waved and smirked. "Surprise...?"

Ah. A slight complication.

"I'm helping her to the dinner table." Kyouya responded. What _else _would he be doing? "I thought I'd asked you not to visit." He covered his mouth, letting out a few wet coughs.

"Careful, Haruhi." Kaoru snarked. "You don't wanna catch whatever he has.

Hikaru snickered. "No matter how much _he_ wants you to."

Tamaki was devastated. He held his head in his hand gravely. "Kyouya, I would never have expected you to lie so flagrantly!"

Haruhi's grip on Senpai's arm tightened slightly. What did he know?

"You aren't sick at all, are you?" Tamaki fell to his knees dramatically. "How can you be trusted if you tell falsehoods so willy-nilly?"

Kyouya felt a small panic rise at the back of his mind, but he was far to practiced to allow that to show. "My academics are far to important for me to skip school without good reason." He replied. "I picked up a case of walking pneumonia at the hospital the yesterday, and I was simply thinking of our guests."

Hikaru snorted. Yeah, uh-huh, _that's_ what happened. He squinted, looking closer. "Holy crap Haruhi! Where you get those hickeys!"

Her hand flew up to her neck. Then, keeping her cool, she deadpanned, "It's really none of your business, is it?"

Crap, crap, crap! Well, she handled that quite nicely, as he saw it. Yes. Why shouldn't she have a boyfriend off campus that they don't know about?

"If you don't mind," He cut in. "Haruhi has a very strict eating schedule as per prescription. If you're going to stay, then you will have to join us in the dining room."

The sound coming from Tamaki's very confused mouth was akin to a screeching car; or a tropical cawing bird. The others were alright with letting him go off on his own.

Hikaru skipped off to take Haruhi's other side. "I guess we could do that!" He grinned charmingly down at her, noticing that the closer he was to her, the worse she looked. She must have really gotten hit hard with whatever she had. "So Haruhi, how are feeling?"

Her other arm taken, she stared at it for a moment before rolling her eyes. "Fine. You don't need to help me, Hikaru. I can walk on my own." (She, of course, had meant with Kyouya's aid, but only she translated it that way)

Kyouya slowly let go of her, if only to keep up appearances. "The fact that you're still here leads me to the suspicion that you intend to join us for dinner, than?" Kyouya asked. There was an implied 'After I ASKED you not to come over today?' in his tone.

Hikaru grinned. "We just wanted to check on Haruhi, but if you're giving it away, hey I can stomach it." He smirked, realizing how sexual that sounded. Ah well!

Haruhi glanced at Senpai, wondering why he'd let go before she realized what her comment had sounded like. Though she really didn't want to go at it alone, this was necessary. She knew she looked a bit wooden, though.

Tamaki only followed the group when he realized they'd left. "Hey! I want food, too!"

Ah, wonderful. He really should have expected something like this. Spending the whole day in his bedroom, alone with a beautiful woman, was almost to good to be true.

"If you're going to stay here, try not to make nuisances of yourselves." Kyouya sighed.

When he began to smell the food, Hikaru followed his nose to pass everyone else and see what was to eat first. Tamaki lagged behind, wondering dejectedly if they would save him any.

Haruhi snuck a glance at Senpai, musing that this didn't seem like the kind of gathering he would usually initiate in his own home. "Senpai..." She murmured, than thought better of it. They would have time later to talk.

He heard her, giving her an aside glance. He knew that having all these men around was the last thing she needed after this morning, but even he had his limits to contriving reasons to get rid of people.

Honestly, she'd been off put by the host club when she'd first met them. Usually, they were fine though, as she knew what to expect from people who... well, yeah. Tonight was a bit different, because of this morning's incident, and her soreness wasn't helping. She frowned and straightened her shoulders. She could do this. It was dinner, than they'd leave. The end.

Casually, Kyouya seated himself next to her, a fair distance from his usual place at the table. He felt she would probably need him right now. ""Please, don't show restraint now." He motioned for all of them to take seats. The chef was not going to be happy.

Having entered last, Tamaki's first choice of table seating, (next to Haruhi), was already taken. (By that dastardly miser Hikaru!) He scooted up to his desired position. "Uh, Hikaru, wouldn't you rather sit _over there_ with Kaoru?" He pointed at the other end of the table, which wasn't actually that close to Kaoru at all.

Kaoru wasn't a huge fan of seating arrangements, himself. He ignored Tamaki. "So, Kyouya-senpai. How is it you're related to Haruhi? I only find out about it today."

Kyouya reached to remember what he'd told Tamaki. "She is the cousin of Fuyumi's husband." He replied, keeping an eye on Tamaki's reaction. He was the kind of man to remember details like this.

Hikaru waved him off, smirking as he pointedly ignored the Boss. "Yeah, Senpai you really keep a secret well. And what a good secret!" He grinned at Haruhi, trying to look dashing.

Tamaki sputtered frustratedly. "Hey! Don't ignore me! I'm the King, remember!" He tried to get the ginger's attention, but to no avail as Hikaru was a champion Ignorer.

Haruhi was mildly surprised at Hikaru's forwardness, but vented into rolling her eyes and not letting him have the satisfaction of a blushing-desu-face.

Oh, right. She was 'related' to Senpai, wasn't she? She tried to think of something to interject to heighten the lie's believability, but couldn't; she instead busied herself with straightening the already perfect silverware a few times.

"No one's ignoring you, Tamaki." Kyouya sighed, though that was a lie. He just wanted to keep him form starting another rant about loyalty or something. "And she isn't a secret, it simply never came up in conversation."

Everyone was ignoring Tamaki. Haruhi smirked. All lies tonight, eh Senpai? "Yeah," she added, "I would have told you." She shrugged it off. "You never asked."

Tamaki couldn't believe their rudeness! He sighing deeply, (and quite audibly) and whined, "But _I_ wanted to sit next to Haru-hiiiii!"

"Well, then perhaps you should have joined the rest of us in a more timely fashion.

The chefs managed a quick, cold appetizer to appease the guests while the rather large and rather sudden meal was prepared. Hopefully that would shut some of them up a little.

He slumped over and dragged himself to a seat next to Kaoru. "Daddy wants to sit next to his baby. Is that so much to ask? I call sitting next to Haruhi at lunch tomorrow!"

Haruhi blinked. Okay, how much did Tamaki-Senpai really /know/? Any man that excited to sit next to a former whore had to have some intel, right? (She inwardly praised herself for adding 'former', and tried not to think about when Ootori-San got home) "Tamaki-Senpai, you can't /call/ sitting next to me. You have to ask." She gave him a pointed look.

"What's more, there's no guarantee that Haruhi will be going to school tomorrow." Kyouya added.

"Besides, don't you have to appease your fangirls at lunch, boss?" Kaoru rested his elbows on the table, taking a few quick bites of his ceviche.

Tamaki was on the verge of angry (over-done) tears. "But I'll MISS her! Haruhi, you'll come tomorrow, right?" He ignored the fangirls jab. That could be ironed out later when they were all puppy-pouting him.

Haruhi shrugged. "It depends." On what Senpai says. "We'll see."

"Keep in mind, she had a fairly serious reaction." Kyouya reminded him. "I'm afraid it's not a decision to be made on a whim."

Hikaru twirled his fork, raising an eyebrow. "Serious? I thought she was just anemic." He glanced at Haruhi. "You just take pills for that."

Well, it was a fair bit more complicated than that. Not that Kyouya could go very far into _why_ exactly. "It's a very advanced case." He replied.

He scratched the bridge of his nose, stuffing a bite into his mouth then admiring his reflection in the silverware. Interesting. There was _definitely_ something going on here. He winked at Kaoru.

Haruhi poked the ceviche, wishing there weren't all these people watching her. Okay, Mori and Huni were busy eating, and Hikaru and Kaoru seemed to be in some kind of...staring contest. Tamaki however, was glancing up at her every few seconds, his huge, tear-filled eyes begging her to come to school. Senpai, of course, was watching her enough to know if she was even attempting to eat the appetizer. She speared the smallest piece, choking it down as quickly as possibly. There.

Well, at least she was making an effort, he decided.

He wondered what those twins were up to. It was never a good day when they started winking at each other like scheming telepaths. He would have to keep an eye on them.

"I do hope the club wasn't to terribly mismanaged while I was away."

"Oh, right!" Huni thrust his hand into the air to punctuate his heroic remembering-details skills. "Presents for Haru-chan!"

Mori produced a huge bunch of balloons. "Presents."

Tamaki brightened instantly. "Oh yes! Haruhi, you will love this! I made you," he pulled something from behind his back. "A special rock! Look, it has a bow and everything!" He smiled hopefully, awaiting the inevitable gratuitous gratitude about to flow.

Haruhi 'hmm'ed and took the rock. It seemed to be... a rock. With a bow. "Thanks, Senpai. It's nice." She looked at the balloons. Now _that _was a present! She'd always thought balloons were the most intriguing little things. "Mori-Senpai, you got me balloons?"

Hikaru exuberantly skipped over to his twin, not trying to hide his mirth too much.

Kaoru let out a few giggles. Whatever, boss.

"We brought cake, too!" Huni produced a few boxes with fancy gold trim. "And cards!"

Ah, leave it to these idiots to go all out and overboard. It was something of a touching display, to be honest. Annoying, but touching.

She'd never had cake, although she didn't know how her stomach would do with sweets at the moment. "Thank you, Huni-Senpai. May I see the cards? You can have my cake, if you like."

Tamaki was flabbergasted at her response. It's _nice_? "But, Haruhi! Haven't you always wanted a special rock friend?" He pointed at the other side of it, which sported a sharpie smiley face.

She looked at it again. "Yeah, it's nice. Thanks." She was more interested in the cards though. She'd never gotten cards. Or balloons.

Ah, a fresh wave of theatrics! Just what this little impromptu dinner party needed.

Huni produced an arm-full of cards from his bag. "We made them with the guests during club today!" He sounded exuberant.

Had he gotten bad information? "HIKARU..." Tamaki turned flaming eyes on the twins. "Didn't you both tell me that Haruhi always wanted one of those? DIDN'T YOU?"

Haruhi grinned. "That's so nice of you!" She thumbed through the stack carefully, amazed at how many there were. "You all didn't have to do that."

"We wanted to because we love you!" Huni exclaimed, kicking his feet excitedly under the table.

Kaoru let out a boisterous laugh. "Wow, boss, I don't even know how to mock you with this one!"

"Oh, I am going to give you a stern talking to when I get my hands on you, young man!" Tamaki said, running to the twins' seats, while Hikaru called, "I guess we better go, huh Kaoru? Or maybe we should get Haruhi some dirt first!"

This noise was bringing back her headache. She smiled again, almost believing the tiny senior's words. "Senpai, can you stop them?" She murmured, rubbing her temples.

"I've been trying since I met them." Kyouya sounded pathetically honest. "Will the three of you behave before I have you forcibly removed from the premises?" He rose his voice just loud enough to b heard above the twin's laughter.

Tamaki had tried to get Hikaru in a headlock, but had failed and had ended up in one instead. "Yes, behave demon child!"

Hikaru let go suddenly, letting the Boss fall to the ground. "Okay. I won't touch him again tonight." He sauntered back to his seat, plopping in the coveted position and wondering if the Boss had realized it had been empty for that long.

"Mother, why do you let him do that?" Tamaki whined, crawling back up to his chair.

"I try not to, but sometimes it's simply beyond my control." Kyouya replied. His voice lacked the inflection of sincerity. He wondered why those three were always together when they just barely got along in public. Ridiculous.

The noise level had gone done slightly, making her headache less of a threat, although a great cover for why she wasn't eating too much. She looked up at the balloons again. The day she'd first seen balloons wasn't a good memory, but then again, everyone died, right? So it was merely a coincidence that the days coincided with each other, and she didn't have to relate them in her mind anymore. They should talk about the balloons. They were really great balloons.

Kyouya slid his hand into hers under the table. She didn't look like she felt too great all the sudden. He lowered his voice while the twins and Tamaki squabbled over something else. "Would you like to go back to bed?"

She looked in the direction of their hands, then up to his face. How had he known she'd been thinking about something so unpleasant? And ohmygosh he was holding her hand and, for lack of a better word, (because the gesture had temporarily fried her brain), it was awesome. She squeezed it lightly, reservedly smiling. "I'm fine. Thank you."

Hikaru distractedly chewed on the end of his fork. "Oops!" He said, dropping it under the table purposefully. It sure looked like they'd been holding hands over there, and that was gross if they were related, no matter how distant. (He usually ignored the way Kaoru treated him)

Kyouya quickly let go, just in case. Those twins had been oddly suspicious of them as of late. "Very well." He whispered back.

Soon, the waiters brought out another course for them. If that last one didn't shut them up, this one certainly must.

Nothing. He sat back up with the only thing gained was a dirty fork. And the Boss was being no help, just sulking over there quietly. Actually, that was more than unhelpful, but kind of annoying.

His hand was gone as fast as it had come. As she hadn't noticed Hikaru's stunt, she wondered if he only gave her attention when she was hurt. It would certainly make sense after today.

The night wore on, much to slowly and far to loudly for Kyouya's taste. All the way into the desert course. After such a quiet day, it was something of a let down. He only hoped they planned on leaving after dinner.

Silly Kyouya doesn't know how dinner parties work.

Hikaru finished dessert, sitting back and patting his stomach. "That was some good cookin' there, Kyouya. Tell that chef of yours he's got the talent!" He sighed. "So what games do we play now?"

Haruhi's heart sank. Game? She was unreasonably tired, (at least for the amount of work she'd done today), and wanted them to go away. "We're not going to play a game. Aren't you tired?"

Kyouya placed his carefully folded napkin back on the table. "Do keep in mid that this _is_ a school night." He sighed. "The two of us are sick, as well. We do require to sleep at some point."

Tamaki wiped his mouth and stood up. "It is crucially important for sick people to rest, isn't it, Kyouya?" He half meant the question like an actual question, (he turned to his friend like a never-ending knowledge spring at times), and half rhetorical. "We should go so that Haruhi will have the most time to rest and the best chance of coming to school tomorrow!"

Huni and Mori had already gathered their things. Mori put a hand on Haruhi's head, saying a simple, "Get well," before leaving.

Hikaru didn't like this arrangement, and immediately began whining, (without even looking to see if his brother felt the same way), "But I wanna play a game. Can't we stay for just a little longer?"

Haruhi was kind of touched by the tall senior's goodbye, but exhausted by Hikaru. She wanted to say no, but didn't know how to point-blank tell him to get out. (Anyway, this _was _Senpai's house, right? She couldn't just kick people out of it)

Kaoru joined in for a x2 puppy-pout combo. "Just a liiiiittle longer! Please?"

Kyouya gave the pair of them a dark look. "Don't you have the slightest concern for Haruhi's health?"

Haruhi put up her hands, tired of this nonsense already. "Fine. I don't care, but I'm going to bed." That would probably get rid of them, she thought.

Hikaru rolled his eyes. "You're such a bore, Haruhi." How could they bother her if she went to sleep?

Kyouya was about to make the same announcement, but it occurred to him that the twins would more than likely see them off to their bedrooms. Haruhi doesn't even know where the guest rooms are yet, does she? He was usually so good at predicting details like this.

"Good night, Haruhi." Perhaps they would leave now that their plaything was leaving. Oh, he didn't like the sound of that.

Haruhi wondered whether they would follow her or not. If they did, she would have to find a different place to claim was her sleeping quarters, an arrangement severely off-putting now that Akito was in the mix. She didn't know how long university classes lasted, but they couldn't be too much longer than this, could they? Wandering the halls without Senpai seemed astronomically unintelligent.

Still, she said good night and thanked the twins for coming over gracefully, hoping that would pacify them as her presence seemed to do for Tamaki-Senpai occasionally.

Hikaru stretched over his head and watched her leave the room. He was half-tempted to follow her, but thought better of it when he saw the look on Kyouya-Senpai's face. "Welp," he said, taking his book bag, "I guess we should scoot, too."

"Yeah." Kaoru agreed. "Thanks for dinner, Senpai." He waved.

"Goodnight." Kyouya replied, his manners wearing thin after all the commotion tonight.

Kaoru still couldn't help the suspicions rolling around in his mind. Maybe he was wrong, initially, but Kyouya and Haruhi were definitely hiding something.

"So," Hikaru said once they'd left the house, (Kyouya was known for bugging_ everything_), "What did you think? They were definitely acting really strange."

"They were." Kaoru replied. "But Haruhi looked okay with it, whatever it is." He just couldn't begin to fathom what could possibly be going on with them, shy of some sort of secret, forbidden engagement or something.

"They were holding hands for a minute, too." He rolled his eyes. "Haruhi doesn't even like the club guests to touch her! Do you think we should do something?" Although he couldn't imagine anything _what._

"Should we just... Ask Kyouya-Senpai about it?" True, he was the master at making up lies on the spot. But between the two of them, they might just be annoying enough to get the truth out of him.

He laced his fingers and cradled the back of his head with them. "Wow, that sounds dangerous. But maybe we should. Haruhi could just be pretending." He tried not to think about Kyouya-Senpai's destructive powers when he got angry, (or manipulative). "We'll just have to watch for the right time."

Kaoru nodded. "It doesn't look like he'll be going to school any time soon, though." Probably having to much fun with Haruhi all day. "Do you think we should come over again tomorrow?"

Hikaru shook his head. "No way. We need to talk to him where he doesn't have every word we say recorded. We'll have to catch him when he comes back. Maybe we can grab him in the hallway?" Even the club room was probably bugged. He'd seen Kyouya-Senpai looking over suspicious tapes a few times.

"Do you think it's a good idea to cause a scene in public like that?" He asked.

Ah, where had she wandered off to? He doubted she strayed to far from the path to his room. "Haruhi?" He called, loud but soft.

She peeked out surreptitiously around the corner. "I may need to explore the rest of this house sometime, Senpai," she said when she was reasonably sure he wasn't accompanied by anyone else.

"Eh, who'll cause a scene?" Hikaru strung his arm around his brother. "Although," the thought was juicer than he'd had in mind originally, "We could just ask Haruhi. Tell her Kyouya-Senpai wanted us to know. Maybe, you know, she'd just spill."

"I'll show you around tomorrow." He replied. He didn't know why, but he gave her hair a quick stroke as he said it. Weird. "For now, I think we're both exhausted."

Kaoru rocked on his toes. "I dunno, she seems pretty tight lipped, too." Although, less so than Kyouya-senpai. "I guess it's worth trying."

Hikaru slumped into the seat in their shared limo. "Alright. As soon as we can get her away from Kyouya-Senpai, we strike!"

Haruhi felt a sizzle of energy when he touched her. "Yeah," the day was catching up to her, although for what she used to go through, today had been a piece of cake, "That sounds good." She wished she could feel his hand around hers again, and let him put her to bed like she'd seen... well, it was nice just to be near tonight. "If you're going to school tomorrow Senpai, do you want a shower tonight?"

"Hm." Kyouya nodded. A nice, relaxing shower sounded just fine after all that. "Yes, I think so. Don't wait for me." He yawned, putting an arm around her to help her back to the bedroom.

She flushed brightly, hoping he wouldn't watch her too closely, as reacting like this was completely unnecessary. She had to practice being strong for Ootori-San, didn't she? It was overly indulgent, then, to lean into him as if she was much more tired than in reality, just to feel his taut muscles around her. Hm.

"Don't stay up too late," she cautioned quietly as they reentered the room. "You need to be in top condition for school."

"Thank you Haruhi." He replied. "I won't." He opened the door. Even though he'd spent most of the day in here, he'd rarely been happier to get to his bedroom. He stifled another yawn, motioning for Haruhi to take the bed once more while he shuffled off to the bathroom.

She didn't watch him leave, so to keep herself busy, she immediately went to find the book they'd been reading. She crawled up onto the big bed and set up the pillows so she could stumble through the confusing words, wishing she had Senpai, (or a dictionary) to help her through some of them. The shower water was relaxing, and Senpai seemed to be taking his time. Good. He'd done a lot for _her_ today, so she felt as if he should take unnecessary time for himself now.

He must have slipped in, the sound of rushing water covering his entrance. He might have been standing, watching her read of a time. Who could say? She was only alerted to Akito's presence when he took a seat at the edge of the both.

When she noticed him, she reacted immediately, closing the book and holding it up like a weapon in a flash. "What are you doing here?" She worked hard to not let her nerves or fear show through, and steeled herself for anything.

"Whoa." He raised a hand in what he no doubt thought was a calming gesture. "Calm down. I only came to apologize for this morning." He extended to hand for a shake. "Truce?"

She untrustingly frowned at the hand and it's bearer. "Why would you do that?" She didn't make a move to accept it, at least not yet.

"What, apologize?" He frowned at her, a ridiculously overblown, theatrical gesture. "Oh come now, Haruhi. It was a simple misunderstanding. I'm no crook."

Crook? "And by that you mean to amend for almost stealing...me. If that's the case, than I suggest you apologize to your brother, my _owner_." She enunciated the word, surprising herself how threatening she sounded, (at least to herself).

He was somewhat taken aback to hear that sort of talk from a lowly _slave._ "Oh really? Little brother hasn't done a very good job taking care of his things, has he?"

She retracted her head instinctively, anticipating a smack. When it didn't come, she raised an eyebrow. "Why that would matter to you, I'm not sure. But no, he takes excellent care of his things."

"Maybe I should rephrase that." He leaned in close to her. "He doesn't know how to take care of you." He smiled, but his eyes were cold and hungry.

Her heart was pounding and she could feel a cold sweat break out on her skin. "Senpai told me I didn't have to do anything for anyone I didn't want to..." She knew how unused to standing up for herself she was, and a little voice in her head suggested giving in... _It would be easier; he wouldn't hurt you,_ "So please leave before I call for him." Haruhi gave her fiercest frown, every bit of her wanting to _run._

"How long have you been here?" He asked, slowly inching across the bed. "I doubt you've been around long enough to forget your place in the world. You know just as well as I how empty that threat is."

He was right. He was right and she knew it. She was property, and he wasn't. Her whole life summed up in one black and white fact. Her glare wavered a moment; then she remembered how Senpai had told her in no uncertain terms that she was _nobody's_ whore. Shivering, she set her jaw. "If you want something, you're going to have to take it by force." She raised an eyebrow cockily, not feeling the confidence yet at all, "I will scream so loud everyone in this whole house will hear it."

Akito's smile mixed with something like disgust or contempt. "You will learn your place one day. i know that for a fact." He slid off the bed. "Kyouya wouldn't just keep you around for no reason. It's not his way."

She sniffed, much more comfortable when he wasn't sharing the bed. "Maybe he likes me. That's more than I can say for you."

Akito snickered. "Kyouya doesn't 'like' just any people." He made his way to the door, just in case she did make good on her threat. "He likes people who have something to offer him. You think he hangs around with those host idiots because they're good people?"

"It was nice of you to visit, Akito." She didn't want to see how he'd react to _that_; "I hope you have a good night."

He gave her a sour look. A very instinctive part of him wanted to put her in her place, right now. But his Ootori genes were far to subtle for that. No, he would let her go for now. And then, when she reached her zenith, _that_ is when he would take her. _That_ is when he would remind her who she was, and why she was not worth his family's time.

She waited until he was gone before she began shaking. What if he had done something? Would she _really _had the courage to scream? She would have said no, but she'd said his name. No groveling with 'Master' or 'Sama'. No politeness with even a 'San'. She'd gone and really done it, and she couldn't _believe _he'd just walked out.

Hugging her knees, she wished Senpai would finish. Even if he didn't know about that little incident, she felt a lot better about... existing in the same building as that man when Senpai was around. A part of her still wished she'd gone along with it; pacified him. Maybe he wouldn't tattle to his father when he got home?

No. That had been right. Hadn't it?

Kyouya was still toweling off his hair when he finally left the bathroom. He looked quite ready for bed at this point. He eyes fell on her. She looked like she'd had another nightmare. Stupid. He should have waited until she was asleep.

"I hope you haven't been waiting on me."

She hadn't even noticed he'd come out. She tried to smile and sighed, "No. I, um, had a nightmare. Senpai, you really mean everybody when you said I didn't have to give in, right?" She at least wanted to confirm that. She twisted at the bed sheets unintentionally.

"I did." He replied, placing himself on the side of the bed, and his glasses on the nightstand. "If anyone says otherwise, well, they'll have me to deal with."

She scratched her head quickly, than nodded. "Okay. Are you sleeping over there?" She desperately wanted him over _here_, with her. She knew she was acting childish, but pushed away the feeling determinedly.

He was beginning to learn how to best deal with her. "NO. I think I'll sleep here, if you don't mind." Not that it was hear choice. He hung the towel on the bed post, before making himself comfortable.

She felt like crying. All of this stress was catching up with her and she almost couldn't take it. Even though she hadn't told him, she knew he had inadvertently saved her, (again), just by being such a good person. (Why on earth would he want to help _her_?) "Okay." She said, making sure her voice didn't quiver. (At least too much)

That last nightmare must have really shaken her. Sigh. "It's alright, Haruhi. I'm here." He pulled up his covers. "You can rest now."

He could read her too darn well. She blinked quickly, scooting over slowly. "You won't leave?" The question slipped out quietly, along with (the only!) tear.

He could hear that tear in her voice. He chose not to acknowledge it. Bringing up emotions would only make a bad situation worse. "I won't leave." He turned out the light.

She didn't turn to him, but waited until he lay down to follow suit. "...Okay." Inch by inch, she wiggling over to him, stopping short of touching. "Sleep well."

It was unclear whether it was purposeful or not, but when Kyouya shifted slightly, his back met hers. His skin was still warm under his clothes from the stem of the shower, and his steady breathing was quiet and reassuring, in it's way

With his warmth, she fell asleep quickly. It was almost becoming habit to sleep well under Senpai's watch, and if she'd been thinking about it too much, a bit unnerving.

Kyouya wanted to go to school even less by the next morning. She'd been so insecure lately. So fragile. But then, being with her father would certainly quell those feelings, at least for a time, right? That was how normal, functioning families were supposed to work. He assumed. There was a severe shortage of families like that in his life.

When he moved, she awoke. She turned over restlessly, murmuring a groggy, "Senpai?" Ugh, it was much to early to be talking.

"Don't get up." Kyouya mumbled. She didn't need to get dressed, she might as well sleep off the extra minutes she had. And keep him warm while doing so... Oh, but no, he did have to get dressed. He pulled himself over to the edge of the bed.

he didn't open her eyes, flipping over to her belly. "I'm going to school today?"

"Hm, I'd rather you rest for another day." He yawned. "But I think you would be safer at your father's apartment while I'm gone." He slid his glasses on before finally, agonizingly, standing up.

She rubbed at her eyes, pulling herself into a half-sitting position. "Dad sleeps all day." It really wouldn't be much different from here, except without the Akito threat. "Could I come to school? I could stay in the nurse's office." Logically, that would work, right? Than she could work on homework, at least.

Kyouya sighed. "I suppose that would be acceptable." Why did he have such a hard time saying no to here these days? "Just try to avoid your fans. If they hear you're there, there'll be no end to it."

She nodded, realizing that she'd just doomed herself to getting out of bed. ...Which was whatever since she wouldn't be able to sleep anyway without Senpai.

She watched him shuffle over to get his glasses, wondering vaguely how much longer they would have together, in this relative peace. After her visitor the last night, she felt compelled to thank him for what he'd done. She slid off the bed, wavering and wondering what on _earth_ she could give him that he would want. When nothing materialized, she realized how little she actually _had. _

His back to her, she did the only thing she could think of, and hugged him shyly from behind. "I'm sorry to be such a bother, Senpai." She said it into his back, feeling the words reverberate back to her.

His muscles tensed. Though he got this sort of treatment from Tamaki quite often, he wasn't sure he would ever quite get sued to it. Especially coming from Haruhi. He felt his face getting warm again.

'You're worth it.' Was what he would have liked to say. He even opened his mouth, took a breath. But no. It was so very against his carefully constructed character. And to open up to her- Her of all people- Was something he simply could not do.

"Don't mention it." So much was hidden behind this simple, cliched words.

She'd never heard the expression, and shivered, pulling away. "Alright," She said, embarrassed now, "I won't." He must have been annoyed with her groveling again. She didn't blame him for getting fed up with her; everyone did because slaves couldn't really do anything right. She hurried to get her school sweater to change.

Kyouya hurried to get himself dressed, as well He got the distinct feeling he'd said the wrong thing again. If he could only just speak his mind from time to time...

"You will be having breakfast before we leave, however."

She pulled the sweater over her head, her hair popping back into it's ruffled mess. "Yeah, yeah." She found her glasses, and wondered if there was anything she hadn't already had in her book bag.

"Whenever you're ready, I guess, then."

Kyouya called the chef to ready breakfast for them as well as pack up a lunch for Haruhi. Not going to make that little mistake again. "Alright, lets go then."

She followed him to the table groggily. So much had happened yesterday it was a bit unbelievable. She stifled a yawn. Nothing could happen today, though. She would be in public with a watchful nurse and no one would be able to get at her. She sat to Senpai's right, realizing how _hungry_ she was. Her stomach growled loudly.

The butlers brought them their breakfasts, small meals easy to finish quickly, and tea.

"I will bring you your homework at lunch and before club." He explained

She was almost done with her plate, amazing herself. "Okay. May I bring something to read?" She was thinking about the Pre-Med book, wondering if she could have a dictionary sent to the nurse's office.

"So long as it doesn't interfere with your homework." He replied. It was nice to see she was taking such an interest in some academic pursuits. She really did need a hobby or something similar to get her mind off the past and into the future.

She brightened, having finished her breakfast and assured, "It won't." She retrieved the book quickly and was back before Senpai had finished his food.

Well, she certainly seemed spry this morning for a woman fresh out of the ICU. Good. She was strong physically as she was mentally. He finished his last few bites of food quickly. "Well, let's be off, then."

She nodded, having kind of hoped that he would have complimented her triumphant breakfast, but he hadn't gotten upset either, so she tried to content herself with that. She sighed. "Alright," she said, following him to the car. She felt good today. Yesterday was gone, and she had all day to make up for it. (That was what her optimistic side told her, at least)

As usual (well, not as of late) the car ride was quiet. He liked to use this time to run through a daily task list. It had been getting much longer and more complicated as of late. He had Haruhi to thank for that. Ah, well. It just made his particular game of life a little more interesting.

They arrived just a little early, so he could take her to the nurse's office personally.

As quiet as their car trip was, it gave Haruhi time to answer the text built up on her phone. Really, sometimes it seemed like those two needed to talk to her every second of the day. She rolled her eyes. Being that attached to someone was ridiculous.

(She didn't look at Senpai the rest of the way)

When they got there, she had to let him guide her to the office as her sense of direction wasn't up to par with the school yet. "You'd think they planned this building for 4,000 people instead of what's here," She commented, not trying very hard to keep the eye roll out of her voice.

Kyouya looked around. It would be awfully crowded if there were so many people. But, he supposed given commoner's space saving ideals, this might seen a little excessive for her.

"Do you think so? There are plans of adding on an extra wing before the end of the next school year."

She snorted. "From what I've heard about public schools, kinda." She shrugged. "Although what I've come to expect from being about rich people, unsurprising."

Kyouya let out a little chuckle. "No doubt you'll get used to it." He didn't think much of it until he'd already said it.

She colored slightly, frowning. "If you say so." The implications of such a statement ignored. "I won't be a bother to the nurse, will I?"

"Of course not." He replied. "She's very well paid to take care for he students here." Not that she got many opportunities, given that everyone in attendance had a personal medical team at home. But that was beside the point.

She sighed a bit. Well, that was a bit reassuring. "Alright. So you're coming to see me at lunch and before club?"

Kyouya nodded. "I can't guarantee that the rest of the club won't tag along, however."

She shrugged. She'd dealt with them before. "Whatever. And you'll have your phone on?" She began to feel like she was grilling him like a mother.

"Yes, Haruhi." He replied. He hoped he didn't have to tell her not to call him during class. "You can call the chauffeur if you feel you need to go home before club lets out."

"Got it." She smiled up at him. "Don't worry, Senpai. I'll be good."

Hikaru leaned against his locker, waiting for his brother. He whistled, "Well looky who's at school today!" He elbowed Kaoru. "And look who she's with."

"That's a surprise." Kaoru watched the two briefly. "I thought he'd milk her anemia for all it was worth."

He flipped over languidly to face Kaoru. "Yeah, me too. I wonder if she'll be falling asleep in class all day or something." Actually, that sounded uncomfortably cute.

"We should keep an eye on her." Kaoru said, sounding just a little sincere, as happened from time to time. "Maybe we should ask her about Kyouya again, too."

Hikaru nodded. "Definitely. With her being sick and all, she might talk easier, anyway." He ignored the part about her well-being, feeling a bit squirmy when they had to talk about her like a regular person instead of their new plaything. Or worse, like a _girl._

Kyouya couldn't help but wonder what those two were up to. They were always an anomaly. Oh well. He ignored them for now, focusing on getting Haruhi to the nurse, and himself to class.

Fleetingly, Haruhi remembered one of her past experiences with doctor's equipment, shaking it off quickly. "Thanks for walking me, Senpai. I'll be fine from here."

"Very well." Kyouya nodded. "Leave your phone on." He seemed just a little hesitant to leave. But that way silly

"Don't worry, okay?" She said, before turning and leaving him outside the door. Inside the office, a friendly little woman greeted her, and showed her to a bed. She rolled her eyes when she realized Senpai had called ahead. Typical of him, though.

'Worry?' Hardly. He had complete faith in the nurses here, after all. There was no reason to worry.

He left, entirely capable of letting thoughts of her go.

That was a lie.

The nurse's friendly bedside manner quite pleasant, Haruhi settled in quickly, beginning to read her book with almost hungry desire. She hadn't had a chance to simply _learn_ in...ever, so it was a very fulfilling experience. The books were still spread out on her when she dozed off for a few moments.

Kaoru couldn't help but notice that Haruhi hadn't come to class. But they had definitely seen her in the hallway. Just what was Kyouya-Senpai up to here?

Hikaru leaned over. "I just texted the Boss to see if Kyouya-Senpai was in class. Where do you think Haruhi is?" The class was supposed to be studying, so he kept his voice now.

"Maybe he left her with the nurse?" He asked. He couldn't imagine why he'd do something like that. But then, he'd been doing a lot of odd things lately.

Hikaru looked over the text. "Kyouya-Senpai's still here. The Boss also added that he doesn't like his new conditioner."

Kaoru rolled his eyes. Tamaki could be so oblivious sometimes. "I guess he couldn't have taken her home, then." He whipped out his phone, sending Haruhi a quick text.

The buzzing woke her up, blearily wondering what all this _stuff_ was on her, before remembering where she was. She responded with a disgruntled, 'What do you want?'

Kaoru frowned. _Somebody _was in a bad mood today. Maybe he should be a bit sneakier today.

"How are you feeling today?"

'Okay. You're texting in class.'

'You aren't?'

'Still sick. Did you need something?' She really wasn't in the mood to text right now. Actually, had she just slept without waking up_ and_ without nightmares _without_ Senpai? This was new.

'I saw you at school this morning. :/ What's going on?'

'I'm sick.'

Kaoru cocked an eyebrow. Why was she avoiding answering the question?

'So you're with the nurse? Awesome, I'll bring you lunch!'

She huffed, typing slowly, as if she could put off her answer. 'Fine,' she put finally, 'I guess that would be nice.'

Score. Kaoru slipped his phone back into his pocket. The had an opening, anyways. It's all about creating the right opportunity.

She wanted to heave the phone across the room. Now Senpai would probably just drop off the work and leave. She'd hoped he would stick around, at least for a few minutes. In the back of her mind, she wondered how much he thought about her, from a non-business point of view. Actually, the business point of view might be interesting, too. She'd seen some of his charts before... did one exist with her name on it? Sighing, Haruhi turned back to the book, a bit less enthusiastically this time.

Kaoru could hardly sit still. There was something big brewing, and he didn't even know what it was anymore. He just hoped everybody turned out alright in the end.

Hours later, the lunch bell rang. Kaoru hopped up, having already informed his brother of his plan, and took off to pick up a good lunch for Haruhi.

Hikaru twiddled his thumbs lazily as they picked out lunch. "Do ya think Kyouya-Senpai will show up?" He asked, worried that they might be interrupted before they found out anything.

"Maybe not?" Kaoru replied. "He acts like he doesn't wanna be seen with her half the time."

Hm. "True. You think she'll like that?" He wrinkled his nose at the food.

"I dunno." Kaoru replied with a frown. "She likes food, right?"

He sniffed at it. "She must. Alright, let's go." He stalked off, wishing he didn't feel so funny about seeing Haruhi in a minute. (Or maybe it was that she was going to be in a bed... He squirmed)

"Haruhi?" Kyouya whispered, in case she'd managed to get some sleep. He had a bundle of homework in his arms for her that he knew she was just dying to see.

She looked up at his voice, a wide smile spreading across her face. "Hello, Senpai. How is your day going?"

"Well enough." He replied. He placed himself in the seat beside her bed, offering the papers. "Do you really want to stay here all day?"

She took them, mentally calculating how long it would all take to do. "What else would I do? You don't want me in class, right?"

He sighed. He would prefer she were at home, but she was far to stubborn for that. "You're right." He replied.

Suddenly, a baby voiced ginger came all but prancing into the room with a tray of food. "Haruhi! We brought you so-" He paused. Crap. Kyouya had beaten them there. "Hey, Senpai."

She looked up, putting on her host smile for lack of a different expression that didn't involve annoyance. "Hey, guys." She peeked at the food. Mmm, that actually didn't look half bad. She'd have to ask Senpai later what it was.

It seemed the nurse's station was equipped with trays specifically for eating in bed. Kaoru fetched her one of these before setting the steaming plate before her. "Ya feeling any better?"

Haruhi almost glanced at Senpai, as if he could answer on her current state of being. She hadn't realized how dependent she'd been on him lately. She cleared her throat. "Yeah. I'll be fine after another day of rest, I think." _That_, however, would be Senpai's decision.

"Awesome." Kaoru said, finding his place at the foot of her bed. "We've got all sorts of things planned to do with you when you're feeling better."

Kyouya kept a close eye on him. He wasn't sure why, but he wasn't comfortable with him being here.

She picked at the food. "All sorts of things? Why do you assume I'll agree to do them?" She didn't like the thought of being alone with anyone minus Senpai, really.

Hikaru grinned, pinching her cheek. "Aw, Haruhi. Lighten up! You're a teenager, don't you want to take some risks?"

"'Sides, how could you possibly say no to these faces?" Kaoru motioned to his face, giving er his best puppy eyes.

She watched as Hikaru joined his brother, the perfect opposite on the other side of her bed. She sighed. "Fine. Maybe I'll think about it. Happy?" She glanced at Senpai out of the corner of her eye, hoping this was okay.

"Hey, it's better than a 'no.'" Kaoru pumped his fist and gave a little cheer. Something about his motions today seemed so stiff. Like he was trying to be more cheerful than he was.

Kyouya's emotions were, as usual, very well hidden under years of practice. He got the feeling he might be late to class if these two jokers stuck around.

Hikaru didn't like how Kyouya was just... doing _nothing_. His Senpai _never_ did nothing, so it was slightly less than terrifying to think what horrible things he could be thinking up. "Well," He said, hoping Kaoru would follow him to the door, "I hope you enjoy your lunch, Haruhi."

As usual, Kaoru caught on to his twin's train of thought. "Feel better!" He called as he turned to give her another wave.

"Hm." Kyouya kept his thoughts to himself. It was just a suspicion, after all.

Hikaru paused for a breath outside of the office. "I couldn't go through with it with Kyouya-Senpai there. He wasn't doing anything, Kaoru! That man never does nothing!"

Haruhi turned back to Senpai when they'd gone, letting the host smile fall away, "I can always tell them no if you don't want me to, Senpai." She played with the food on her fork.

"I know." Kaoru rubbed at his shoulders. It almost gave him chills. "It's like he was putting all his energy to plotting our deaths."

"If you must spend time with them, I would much prefer I were there, too." Kyouya replied.

She sighed in relief. Oh good, he was thinking the same thing. "That's fine. I don't know how comfortable I could have been alone." She glanced at the clock. "Isn't the next class starting soon?" She _really_ didn't want it to.

Hikaru put his arm around his brother, walking them quickly away. "We'll have to be a lot more careful. We'll have to find a time when we _know_ Haruhi will be alone." Come to think of it, had he ever seen her without him?

Kyouya looked to the clock. "So it is." He replied, than stood. "Well, then. Take care, Haruhi." He nodded curtly.

"But, Hikaru, she _lives_ with him." Kaoru protested. "Are you saying we should cut class?"

Her heart sank unintentionally. "Take care," she said as he left. She'd see him in a few hours, what was the big deal?

Hikaru thought for a second. "Well... She has to change clothes without him, right? And we cosplay so..." It was risky, and he knew it. If Kyouya-Senpai caught them sneaking into her changing room while she was... He didn't want to think about it.

"That's a little dangerous, don't you think?" Kaoru asked. "I mean, if she screams, Kyouya's gonna be..."

He covered Kaoru's mouth. "It'll be fine. You can distract and I'll get the information." His heart began pounding at the thought.

Kaoru squirmed a bit. This just sounded so... wrong. But, of course, his brother was never wrong. "Okay." He said with a gulp. "But we gotta be quick with it, okay? Just in and out and no fooling around."

Fooling around. Heh. "Of course not. It'll be fine." He hoped.

Kyouya was a bit on edge during school that day. Just the thought of those twins with his- with Haruhi- you know what screw it, with HIS Haruhi. He had no idea what they might do, he just knew he didn't like it. The sooner he got back to Haruhi, the better.

Homework a lot more intimidating without Senpai with her. She'd put the Pre-Med book away, but kept the dictionary handy, working through what she knew and leaving the rest for later. The textbooks helped some, but she was still learning to learn, and such a feat was difficult to master all at once. She glanced at the clock again, wishing the last bell would finally ring so Senpai could come back for a few minutes. This day was taking _forever._

Forever though it may have seemed, the day was not endless. After a time, the finally bell did, in fact, ring. As promised, Kyouya came to see her first thing. He hoped the club could fend for itself just this once and get the set up done in a timely fashion without him.

She tried not to react so strongly this time. She was beginning to realize how much of her heart she wore on her sleeve to Senpai; (which, in reality, should be a very dangerous thing to do in this situation). "Hi," she greeted him, giving all her effort into making her voice sound uncaring, or at least not like a desperate puppy.

Oh. What had gotten into her suddenly? Not that he cared or anything, just... It was different for her. Oh well. "Good afternoon." Now that he was here, he wasn't sure what he had been planning to do while he was here.

Well that had seemed to work overly well. Was that his hosting voice? She shivered, looking up at him. She couldn't think of many things she'd like to hear less today. "How was your day, Senpai?" Now that she was going at this, she might as well do the polite conversation thing.

"It went smoothly." He replied. "And how are you? Still recovering alright, I hope."

So strained. She shifted. "I'll be fine." She had been thinking about the incident during his shower last night. She felt as if she should tell him, but wasn't sure what to say about it. "Senpai, last night..." She paused, unsure of how to continue.

He ran through the events of last night. Nothing stood out especially, aside from maybe that hand holding incident... But he couldn't imagine she'd meant that. "What about it?"

"Uh," She tried to force anything helpful out. "While you were in the shower..." No, she couldn't tell him. If Akito found out she'd tattled, he might make her sound worse to his father, lessening her chances of staying with Senpai. She fumbled for some other way to continue. "I, uh, was reading your books." Yeah, _that_ sounded believable. "And I wanted to apologize." There. Groveling. He'd probably buy that.

He rose an eyebrow. Something wasn't exactly ringing true here. But then, she was Haruhi. This sounded like the ridiculous sort of thing she would fixate on and anguish over. He would have to train that out of her somehow. "I encourage it. If there's something you'd like to read, help yourself to it."

She pretended to sigh in relief, giving it just the right amount of secrecy to make him believe it. "Thank you. I got quite a bit of my homework done!" She needed to change the subject; he would be able to read the lie if she continued any more in it.

He looked to the stack of completed paperwork and nodded with satisfaction. "Very good." He said. "Don't work yourself to hard. You still need to recover."

She looked at the stack, averting her eyes purposefully. "Would you be able to help me with some of it later?" She didn't want to ask; she still felt like such a huge imposition. "I would finish it on my own but..."

"Certainly." He replied. It was understandable. Homework was something new to her, and it could be overwhelming. He did expect her to be able to do it on her own at some point, though. "Perhaps we'll finish it on the way home today."

She nodded, wishing her whole existence with this person didn't revolve around her feeling bad about asking for things. "Thank you." She shuffled the papers awkwardly, wishing her vocabulary skills weren't so far underdeveloped. In fact, most of the words that made her sound as if she were in the right grade she'd learned directly from Senpai.

Odd. Her lukewarm greeting seemed to have thrown off the entire cantor of their meeting. Talking to her was usually much easier. Ah, well, He should probably be leaving sometime soon, anyways.

"Well, I suppose that's that, then.." He stood. "Unless there was something else you'd like to say?"

Instinctively, she began to put her arms out for a hug, before she realized what she was doing and retracted them. "Have a good time at the club."

"Take care." He said again.

With that, he left her there. Perhaps she was flexing her independence. That was certainly a good thing, but... He wasn't sure he was ready yet.

When he was gone she absolutely deflated. What was she doing just now? She was so stupid, being so chilly to the one person who'd done more than anyone else in the world for her. She realized then that she hadn't even said goodbye when she left. Stupid! She hoped the club would go quickly today.

Tamaki looked at his cell phone, wondering where Kyouya could be. "Has anyone seen Kyouya?" He asked, "Our Cool host seems to be missing!"

A few minutes later, the Cool host did, indeed, show up. "Sorry I'm late." He gave a brief wave, but offered no explanation as to his prior absence. He swaggered through the room without a word, ready to gt changed and get this over with.

Tamaki, however, didn't want to just let him waltz in like that. "Kyouya!" He ran after his friend, catching him near the changing room. "Kyouya! We-_I_ was wondering where you were. I thought you were going to miss club!"

"I wouldn't dream of it." Kyouya replied. "I simply had some things to finish before I got here. I assume you can handle things every now and again."

He grimaced, his whole face twisting. "Kyouyya. I missed you! And we haven't hung out in a long time! Where have you been lately?" He'd inadvertently switched into his puppy face.

"As you know, my father has been away on a business trip." Kyouya didn't miss a beat. He took his costume into his changing room. "When father's away, all of us have to keep an eye on things. I take my responsibility very serious."

Tamaki followed him all the way to the door, leaning dramatically on the wall outside. "That doesn't mean you have to shut me out, you know. When does your father get back? You need to promise me you'll take me somewhere as soon as he does!"

Just very briefly, the thought of his father's return made his head swim. He had no idea what was going to happen then or if he would be in any position to take Tamaki anywhere.

Not that he could confide in him about this. Or anyone, for that matter. Not that it mattered. he could handle anything.

"Very well. I promise."

Tamaki brightened immediately. "Good. We'll have a good time, I promise! We'll have enough fun to make up for the time we lost! Okay?"

He was so light-hearted and carefree. It was infuriating. "Okay." He replied, his voice slathered thickly with false indifference. He soon exited the changing room. "Why don't you focus on your customers for now?"

He rolled his eyes, slinging his arm around Kyouya jovially. "They're just about to arrive. Thanks, Kyouya! I can't wait!" Impulsively, he hugged his friend before trotting off to his table.

Dang it if he wasn't such a hard man to stay mad at. His optimism was almost infectious. Almost. He left to set up his table, and greet his guests.

Haruhi tapped her fingers, eyes locked on the clock now, knowing club would be ending soon. Dang it, why did it take so long when she wasn't there?

There's wasn't anything left to do here, in any case. She'd finished as much homework as possible, and had packed everything to go home. All she needed now was Senpai. If the clock would start moving again!

Kyouya stepped out early to day, with profuse apologies to his guests. They seemed to understand, though. He was awfully sick yesterday. They saw him off with much emotion and cooing.

He was sure Haruhi was more than ready to go home by now.

She heard him coming before she saw him. Her heart skipped a beat, as she swung her legs over the bed and began to stand up.

He entered, somewhat surprised to see er up and about. "You seem energetic all of the sudden.."

Smiling, she picked up her bag. "I've gotten a lot of rest. How was club?"

"It went well enough." It was true, if one ignored the conversation in the dressing rooms. "But it's left me quite ready to go back home."

She nodded apologetically, as if his school day were her fault. "I couldn't agree more." He really did look tired. She knew he didn't like the groveling, but helping couldn't be considered that, could it?

"Shall I... carry your book bag, Senpai? I've been resting all day, so I could do it." Her heart was pounding for some unknown reason.

"What kind of host would i be if I allowed a sick woman to carry my bag?" He asked. "Do you have everything?"

The thudding dulled. Of course he wouldn't let her; he was strong like that. "Yes." Her brows were knit together in disgust with herself for asking him such dumb questions. Although, it seemed as if he was the only one that she made that mistake yet. "I'm ready if you are."

"Very well, then." He kept one eye on her as the made their way out, just in case she wasn't as strong as she let on. He sent Ranka a quick text, letting him know that she'd made it through the school day alright, on the way to the car.

She struggled a bit with the bag, even though she _had_ rested all day, as she'd pointed out to him. She was beginning to severely doubt her decision not to tell him about Akito's visit.

Yes. He was her master. She had to tell him.

No, Akito was scary and she didn't want to set him off.

_Yes_, because of Akito's presence. What would he think he could get away with if not dealt with properly?

They were in the car before she worked up enough courage to say something. "Senpai?" She asked quietly, not wanting to talk _loudly_, in any case. "I need to tell you something."

He had a sinking feeling all the sudden. "Did something happen today?" He asked.

She waved her hands defensively. "No, no! Nothing like that! It's about last night..."

This again. He knew it couldn't have been as simple as books. "What about it?"

She lifted her bag onto her lap, then pushed it off. She kind of wished she could take his hand and tell him gently, but she settled for twisting her sweater nervously. "I, um, had a...visitor. While you were in the shower." THERE. She'd said it!

He tilted his head, his glasses hiding the murderous glare in his eyes. "Was it my brother again?" He asked, quite cool, quite calm.

She paused, too nervous to say anything. "Yes! Bu-but, I was afraid to tell you because whatifhetoldyourDad and then I'd get sent away forever or I'dhavetoserveAkito and I didn't know what to do!" She took a deep breath, but it wasn't enough. She took a few more, feeling very much like she was hyperventilating. "I didn't mean to keep secrets from you, Senpai!" She admitted hastily, eyes clenched shut and head down defensively.

He still stayed very calm. "What, exactly, happened last night?" He asked.

She clenched her fists. "Nothing," her voice broke a bit, "He insinuated things, but I refused like you said I should. He was only with me for a few minutes."

Kyouya nodded. "You did very well, Haruhi."

What made this all the more infuriating was that he had absolutely no means of retaliation. If the man had any ambition at all, ruining his public image would have been the death of him. If he had any investments in the company, buying out all his shares would leave him in ruins. If this had been Yuuichi, this would have been _so easy._ But Akito,in his ambivalence, was untouchable.

She looked up at him finally, not caring what he saw at this moment. "I-I-I was so..." She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. She could do this. "He's not allowed, Senpai? Not even little things? He's not even allowed to touch me?" She just needed to hear it. She didn't doubt Senpai's commitment to his statements, but she just need him to_ say it_. It was the opposite of all her training, which she'd started before she'd hit double digits, so the rules were kind of engraved into her thoughts, even ones that had little meaning. She felt her hands begin shaking mildly.

"No, Haruhi." Kyouya replied. "I don't want him so much as _looking_ at you if it isn't completely necessary." There was a fierceness to his voice that even he didn't recognize. He readied himself to tell her something that he'd never told anyone. "I don't know what to do. But I _will._ I _will_ fix things." He just needed time. Time that he didn't have. Father was coming home.

She felt tears. _Again?_ She blinked them back rapidly. She reached out shyly, pathetically, and curled her fingers around his. "Senpai," She whispered, "Sell me. I'm nothing but trouble. Sell me and you can have a good life again." It had come from no where, but the more she thought about it, the more impassioned her words became.

He wrapped his fingers around hers. Only one word came to his mind.

"No."

She set her jaw, looking at him in the eye. "If I ever pose more of a problem than I am worth, you need to promise me that you'll sell me. I'm serious; you've done too-" her voice broke again, but her expression didn't, "too much." She relished how firm and commanding his hands were. Gosh, even the man's hands were a source of confusion for her.

"And who are you to give me such a command?" He asked. He didn't sound angry, per say. Not even indignant. Simply firm. "I refuse."

Her hand tightened immediately. This boy-

She rubbed her eyes on her sweater before leaning her head down on his shoulder. "Alright." She knew it was useless to argue, especially when she had no authority to back it, "I'll try my best to be worth the investment you paid, then."

Why was it so frustrating to hear her say that? Why couldn't she just understand what this relationship _really_ meant? Why couldn't at least _one_ of them understand?

His thoughts went unspoken. They were barely coherent inside his own head, anyways. Just a big ball of raw emotion that he did not want to touch.

"I don't doubt it."

She wanted to continue, lay out what she could do for him, even...sexually. Somehow, that thought seemed more crass than it used to. She pulled her body in so that she was curled up as tightly against him as she could be. So she stayed quiet, not knowing what to add, or how to add it. All she knew what she couldn't imagine being anywhere else in the whole world right now.

He sorted of wanted to curl up into a ball right now, too. Unfortunately,that wasn't a very dignified way to handle ones emotions. He sat stiffly in his seat, still clutching tightly to her hand. It really would be the humane thing to take her to her father's house. Then all of this trouble could be avoided. But he just didn't have the heart to leave her alone anymore.

(But, he'd have to eventually, right?)

He almost wished the car ride were longer. That they could stay in here, isolated from the world just a little longer. But, no. The limo pulled up to the door, the engine's smooth rumbling coming to a swift halt.

In the emotion of it all, and with Senpai's warm body pressed up against her, Haruhi had fallen asleep. She shifted when the car stopped, but didn't wake up.

Kyouya motioned for the chauffeur to leave the door for now. He wasn';t going to wake her up this time. For now, it would be just the two of them, alone in this car. This car where so many words were exchanged, or left unsaid. Away from the world. Just for a little while.

When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Senpai's serious face concentrated on the other side of the window. She wiggled slightly, yawning. "I didn't mean to fall asleep, I'm sorry to keep you waiting, Senpai." It was partially the script in her head, but who could blame her? She'd been expected to speak those words on almost nothing else for so long...

"You're just fine, Haruhi." Kyouya sighed. "If you wouldn't mind waiting just a little longer. He leaves for his evening class in a few minutes."

She stopping stretching and looked nervously out the window towards the door. Then, she calmed herself and said, "He's a wimp, really. I don't mind waiting, though." Something about the way he had spoken made her think _insecurities._ Or at least a flawed personality that would be easy to pick apart. (If she could think coherently in his presence)

"He is." Kyouya agreed. "But I would still like to avoid him for the time being." He pulled her just a little bit closer.

She warmed at the attention. She timidly began drawing designs on his leg, ecstatic after realizing they were still holding hands. She knew she was technically overstepping, but she didn't care. "Yeah. Senpai, if I was going to stay forever, what would teach me first?"

(She was feeling inhibitionless)

Very subtly, his cheeks colored. 'If' was beginning to sound more and more foreign, incorrect. Not that he could tell her these things.

"Well, a proper lady has a host of skills." He replied. "You're doing well with table manners. I suppose next would be dancing."

Her ears perked up attentively. Dancing? The thought had never even crossed her mind. She began to spell the word lightly on the blank canvas of his thigh. "I've never danced before; do you think I'd be able to do it?" She thought she could, depending on her instructor.

He shuddered under her intimate touch. That should have been a warning sign. "There's no doubt in my mind."

She sighed contentedly. She finished that word with a flourish, poking polka dots before deciding to spell something else. "Then I think I could, too. Where would I dance, though?"

"Well, if you intend on staying, then you must accompany to social functions." He replied. His skin prickled all over. "Parties, balls, that sort of thing. It would be expected."

"I'd have to wear those fancy clothes, wouldn't I?" She finished her word, running her hand over it as if it were an eraser.

"Naturally." He replied. His other hand began to trail, slowly, up her arm, just barely touching her skin with his fingertips. "And make up, of course."

She tingled, shivering with pleasure. She wanted to explore further so _much._ Instead, she began running her fingers along his taut stomach. "I've worn makeup. I guess I could learn to do that, then. Would you teach me to dance, Senpai?" You wouldn't send someone else to, would you?

He shuddered again, practically melting under her touch. He shifted, facing her more directly now. "I wouldn't let anyone else touch you."

She blinked, then let her face slip into a wide smile. "I'll learn, then. I'll learn how to dance so I can keep up with you, Senpai." She leaned her head down again, tracing circles on his midriff.

His arm slowly wrapped around her shoulders, fiddling with the corner of her collar. "I think I'd enjoy that." He let go of her hand, reaching for the lowest button on her shirt.

She tried not to tense, and also not to completely melt into him. After a second, she realized what kind of permission had probably just been given, and climbed hesitantly onto his lap, facing him. "Yeah." She would have agreed to being a four-hundred foot mouse at this point. "I would, too."

He let out a heavy breath. This was good. It felt nice. His mind was somewhere else, and for once, his focus was entirely physical. He managed to undo the button, his hand sliding up her shirt, for the simple purpose of feeling her skin.

Her whole torso was on fire. She breathed out, shakily, remembering vaguely how she'd deduced she wouldn't have to pretend with Senpai and _boy_ was she right. As his hand explored her skin, she worked on the rest of her own buttons, hoping he wouldn't pull away. She wanted to say something, but her mind was so taken up by how _good _it felt. She leaned in to his face, tilting her head until she was level with his jaw, and began lining kisses down it, each one light and chaste.

He let out another restrained moan, disguised as a sigh. He struggled his way out of his blazer, before forgetting about his own clothes entirely. He found her waistband, shaky fingers working desperately to undo just one last button. One more button and then...

She's off limits.

Haruhi is off limits.

"Haruhi." He breathed.

He was working that button, his fingers teasing her skin and she _tried_ to keep it in, but the tiny mewl escaped past her best intentions. She was so close to his lips, which were _definitely_ not allowed. She stopped at his chin, panting at the effort to not just take those soft-looking lips right there.

"Please...Senpai." He had paused and she was begging, and she knew it. But... it felt so _good. _

"Don't-mm,

Please...don't stop." She knew the longer they went at this the louder she was going to get. She kissed his chin, feeling the almost-there stubble with her lips.

"Mm." His muscles were tense under her influence. Oh, he didn't want to stop. That was the _last_ thing he wanted to do. But without his self control, what did he have? "Nnn. No." He reached for her wrists. "NO, we can't. You're... Off limits."

Off limits? What did that mean? She knew the face she was giving him was dangerous, half laden with lust and need, and half in something like the puppy pout. "Senpai," she said, almost-intentionally moving herself around on his lap. "I want this. Even if," she swallowed, knowing the weight of her words, "Even if I didn't belong to you, I'd want this." She'd never had to beg before. She bowed her head down to his throat, kissing the base of it tenderly. "I've never been... a lover before." She kissed it again, then leaned her forehead on him.

His whole body shuddered with a final tremor. "No, you don't." He finally managed, taking her by the shoulders and pushing her away. "You're projecting." He panted. He was only now aware of the sweat clinging to his body, only now realizing they were in the back of a CAR, for crying out loud. This wasn't how it was supposed to be, and this was not who it was supposed to be with. Not now, at least.

"No, you don't want this." He wasn't sure if he was trying to convince her, or himself anymore.

Tears sprung to her eyes, her vacated skin radiating as if burned. "Yes, Senpai." She tried to not let it sting so badly, but the rejection was a blow she hadn't been prepared to take. "Wait, Senpai?" She turned to him seriously, her eyes still shining with unshed tears, "I know whether I want something or not. Even if someone else has made every single decision in my life, and usually to benefit themselves," she hiccuped, not matching the stern look on her face very well, "No one can change my mind about what I want, even if I never get it." She wiped at her eyes with the heels of her hands before adding, "And you should respect that I want you, Senpai, even if you don't want me, too." She knew she was being brash. She wanted to blame it on not being able to help it, but she knew if it had been anyone else she_ would_ have been able to control herself.

It still just felt so very _wrong._ Even if it were true, even if he could completely trust that this had nothing to do with her past trauma, could he really do this to her? Right now? As far as he knew, the world was about to come crashing down around them as soon as his father came through the door?

No. He as a cold person, but more and more, he found, he was not heartless.

"Not now." He finally whispered. "Some day, yes. But not now."

She sniffed, averting her eyes. Faintly, almost too quiet to hear, she consented with a tiny, "Yes, Senpai." She settled herself on the seat, only realizing her shirt was undone a moment later. She buttoned it slowly. "I'm sorry to have displeased you," she was just barely above her previous tone.

"You've done nothing of the sort." He replied firmly. He slid back into his blazer, taking a few deep breaths. "You're fine. You're perfect." It sort of slipped out, but after that undignified display, he supposed it didn;'t mean too terribly much did it?

She reached for his hand again, wrapping her own in his firmly before she was able to relax. She knew for a fact that she was _much_ too attached to this person, but, other than in her inhibitions, she decided she really didn't care very much. Anyway, it might not matter after a few more days, anyway.

He squeezed her hand, doing his best to be reassuring. Whatever this little relationship was, he never wanted it to end.

"I think we should get inside, hm?"

She smiled tiredly and nodded, grabbing her book bag with her free hand, not letting go of his. Honestly, she didn't really understand why she felt the way she did about him, but in any case, she wasn't going to figure out right _now_, and she desperately didn't want the contact to end.

He still held her hand as they stepped out of the car. He wished he could let go. Every minute they spent like this was only going to make letting go more painful. He needed a change of pace. Something logical, just to remind him of how he was supposed to be. "I recall you had some homework left over."

Ah, something to snap them out of this foolishness. They walked to the door together and she confirmed, "Yeah. Not too much, though. Do you mind?"

"No." He continued on his way to the bedroom. Hm. Sharing a bed with her tonight was going to be... Difficult. "Let's get started, then."

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><p>AN: May I say that I love each and every one of the reviews I receive? You guys are absolutely wonderful, wonderful! (Also, how do you read fanfiction in Walmart? That's freaking amazing! I wish I could do that! lol)  
>And who liked that little smutty goodness there? I know I did! XD<p> 


	19. Yoshio

A/N: Sorry if this is the second time you've been alerted to this chapter. MY stuff was glitchy, so I wanted make sure you guys had seen there was new stuff to see! u Enjoy!

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><p>Before they reached the room however, a maid appeared and bowed. "Ootori-San, a message from your father arrived for you," she said politely, holding out the message in question.<p>

Haruhi stiffened. Message? Did he find out already? Was that the paper that banished her from Senpai forever? Her grip tightened, looking nervously to him.

Kyouya took the paper, stiff and tense. Had Akito told him already? Did he not even get the chance to defend himself in person? He swallowed thickly, his throat going inexplicably dry, and looked to the paper in his hand.

The maid bowed, storing the two's grasped hands away in her 'to be shared with the rest of the house' folder before leaving them.

Haruhi craned her neck. "Senpai..." Her throat was dry, leaving her voice to crackle a bit. "What does it say?"

He paused briefly to thoroughly read the message. "He's coming home early." He said, heart sinking. "He'll be home late tomorrow." He tried to say it in a toneless fashion, but disappointment still colored his voice.

Her other hand raced to hold onto his arm. This was bad. Really bad. "I'll be ready," she heard herself say, projecting more confidence than she had, "by tomorrow then." Her heart was hammering almost painfully. "Does it say what time?"

"He airplane will touch down at seven fifteen." Kyouya replied. How was he supposed to figure this out in one day? There were to many details... "Haruhi, I want you to remember that you are mine, no matter what my father might say."

All the worst case scenarios were running through her head, making her vision swim a bit. Seven-fifteen. That meant after school. A whole day of school that they had to survive before this awful introduction Akito was no doubt going to suggest immediately. She nodded, a bit dizzy. "I'm yours," she said, trying to regain her composure. "I-I can do this, Senpai." She wasn't sure at all. "Don't worry."

"I wouldn't." It was an obvious lie, but he was going to at least try to sound brace for her. After all, how bad could things- No, no, don't go there. "However, you have other things to focus on. Your homework." Yes, everything would be fine.

She faltered for a second, holding onto his arm tightly as her dizziness tried to overtake her. "Yeah. We should work on that so we can get a good night's sleep tonight."

"Indeed. And I hope you don't think we'll be skipping dinner tonight." Business as usual. That was what they needed.

She sighed. It would be like trying to ingest raw cement, but she would do it for Senpai. "Can I have tea with my dinner?" She wished her heart would stop trying to hammer out of her chest; it was unhelpfully interrupting what could have been peaceful time. (Aw, who was she kidding?)

"Of course you may." He caught one of the maids, asking her to have the chef send dinner up to his room.

He almost wanted to call his father now and be done with it. He wasn't sure he could take an entire day with this cloudy future ahead of him. If she was to leave, wouldn't it be better now than later?

No. He wasn't going to give up on her like that. Not yet.

When they finally entered Senpai's room, Haruhi dumped her book bag and kicked off her shoes gratefully. There was the lingering question of, 'Is this my last night with Senpai?' She tried to ignore it, but had to sit down on the bed to not completely let her emotions get the best of her. She glared across the room at her bag, wishing she'd gotten everything done earlier. No, this was a welcome distraction, wasn't it? "It's the science and math stuff," She said.

"Excellent." He replied. His preferred subjects, all things being honest. He came to sit on the bed with her.

Maybe he shouldn't have stopped himself earlier. Wouldn't that have been the perfect final night together? Tangled up in the backseat of the car, filthy and tired and so in love and- No, no, home work. It's time to do homework.

They were next to each other, but she couldn't get close enough. His words- no, that wasn't right. His whole presence was a comfort to her, and she desperately wished they could forget the homework. It might be their last night, right? All she wanted to do was please him so much that his voice went horse from calling her name. No, no. That wasn't right, either. He didn't ask, and he called the shots. She showed him briefly what she'd been struggling with.

Now that he'd had that little taste, every minute was even harder. His blood was still a rush from that moment in the car. That moment when the finally touched, the electricity between them...

"Actually, if you don't mind." He stood. "I think I'd like a shower before we get started." A very cold one.

Of course she'd noticed. She'd been trained to, for heaven's sake. "Okay. I'll just... wait out here." She suddenly remembered last time he'd showered, and hopped up to secure the door. She looked back. "Is it alright if I lock the door?"

"Go ahead." Akito wasn't home, but he could certainly understand the security it provided. "Just don't... Fall asleep." He would hate to lose those few hours with her tonight.

She shook the door handle a bit, just to test it. When she was positive it was locked, she turned and smiled. "I have to eat dinner yet, right?" She returned to the bed, climbing up it and settling cross-legged. "So of course I won't."

"Good." He said, a small smile despite everything. "I'll be back." He left for the bathroom.

She watched him leave, wondering what to do in his absence. Dinner arrived seconds later, the maid knocking on the freshly-locked door. Once that was taken care of, Haruhi sat down on the bed, letting a fresh wave of nausea fall over her. Oh gosh, tomorrow. Tomorrow it would all be over. She shook her head. No, she couldn't think about it like that. Tomorrow was when she'd be...tested to see how well she was adjusting? Yeah, that sounded better.

Unfortunately, while the icy water running over him did a good job of quenching the fire in his blood, the shower also afforded him time to think about tomorrow. Dozens of scenarios went through his head, and he didn't like any one of them. Would he send her away? Would he send_him_ away? He he sell her? Would he... Use her? No. That, he would NOT think of. No matter what, that wasn't going to happen.

It was a short shower, not longer than ten minutes, but it even that was far to much.

She heard the water shut off, wishing to have some sort of...surprise or _something_ to present to him when he reemerged. Nothing would be suitable though, so she sipped her tea and simply waited.

He soon left the bathroom, cold water still dripping from his tousled hair. He was a lot more clear headed now. That was both a gift and a hindrance, given just the sorts of things his mind had to focus on right now. At least it wasn't sex.

"Sorry to make you wait."

She shook her head. "It's no problem." She motioned to the tray. "Dinner's here." She tried to ignore how cute his hair was tousled.

"Thank you." He seated himself on the edge of the bed to pick at his food. "Now, what is it that's giving you trouble?"

She pulled out the papers, showing him the hardest bits. After a while, she sighed and said, "Someday I'll be able to do this without having to bother you, Senpai."

"I'm sure you will." He replied, glancing over the papers. "You're very clever, Haruhi. You're simply out of practice."

She warmed. "Thank you. Eventually, you won't have to worry about my grades disappointing you." She tried not to think about what would happen if tomorrow went badly. At least she wouldn't have to worry about homework anymore. She shivered.

"I know better than to worry." He replied. He knew what she meant, but a large part of him still refused to admit to the reality that he might not have her soon. "You've been doing very well, all things considered."

All things considered, she knew she was doing well in school. Plus it didn't hurt that he was so supportive. Timidly, she slid her hand over his on the bed. "Thanks." They were almost done with the homework, anyway.

He hand twitched beneath hers. He should pull away. Things got so dangerous when they touched. So painful. But he couldn't bring himself to do it. His hand remained laced with hers until the homework was finished.

She hated to have to brings the books all the way across the room, mostly because of how she would have to let go. Instead, she piled them on the floor next to the bed and curled in on herself. "Senpai," she asked quietly, "What will you do if he sells me?"

"He won't." Kyouya replied. He slid under the covers, taking a short moment to indulge in snuggling with her (perhaps one last time.) "I told you I would protect you."

She wiggled closer to him, wishing this could go on forever. "I know, but-" Her eyes were getting wet. _Again?_ She wanted to press him for an answer; she knew she should prepare herself for the worst. Then again, if the worst _did_ happen, this would be the last night anyone treated her so gently. "Okay," she said instead. "Than I won't worry."

"Thank you." Worry had a tendency to be infectious, and he was already dealing with a good bit of his own. No, somehow, he would protect her. He was an Ootori. He could do it.

She let her head loll down to rest on his chest. "Tell me about something, Senpai. Anything." She just needed to hear his voice, unfortunately calming and reassuring as it was.

He was never much of a conversationalist, unless product placement was involved. But, for her, he would do it. "You were very missed at club today." He said gently. "Several of your fans asked us to give you their best wishes. They seem to like you very much.

Actually, she would miss those girls if she never saw them again. "I think I missed them, too." She was as close to Senpai's warm body as she could be; something about the proximity and her voice not wavering being connected. "What about the guys? How were they today?"

He chuckled softly, causing gentle and perhaps relaxing rumble in his chest. "They're a mess without you." He replied. "You would think they'd never gotten along without you."

She snorted softly. "I hope they'd be okay-" No, that wasn't what they were talking about. Change of subject. "Senpai, what about your future? Tell me about that." For someone who'd never had the opportunity to make _any_ plans for her own, she was highly curious when it came to other people's. Actually, just Senpai's. She was curious about his because she was curious about everything around him.

He wasn't quite as sure of his future. This could be seen as a major screw up. But he never gave up. "That should be obvious. I intend to surpass my brothers, and take over the family business."

No, that's not what she'd meant. "I knew that. What about a family? Your sister's married." She almost laughed at the thought of his beautiful, brainy children running around the house, outsmarting each other at everything.

"Hm..." That was something he thought about a bit less often. "Well, if I am to succeed the family, I will require an heir." He replied. "So, yes, children are a must. Legitimate children would be more well looked upon, so I suppose marriage is also a requirement." It was such an odd thought, still.

The strange choice of words didn't register very much with Haruhi; she'd heard it all, after all. "Will you marry for love?" Her gut was twisting, much like she twisted the sheets when she was nervous. "Or business?"

Until very, very recently, the idea of marrying for love seemed foolish and impractical, at best. He'd heard romantics croon about the beauty of love and how nothing else mattered and scoffed. They knew nothing of the real world, right?

But, he was pretty sure, he knew a lot more about the real world than most his age. And still, he was ready to walk away from everything for this girl. (Not that he would, of course. That would be foolish) Maybe those romantics really were onto something...

His stomach lurched. No. This wasn't his character.

"Perhaps both." He replied. "I certainly don't intend to compromise on my future."

Both? That would be interesting. She'd been laying on her hand, on his chest, and began tapping her fingers lightly. "What did your father marry for?"

"Status." He replied. He didn't need to think to hard on that one. From what he could remember about their relationship, even at that young age he could see that it was a completely loveless marriage.

"Does he expect the same for you?" If their father was really that heartless, it was understandable that Akito wasn't married yet; he was too intimidated. That would make it even more understandable that he did what he did, as he had no outlet for his pent up passion. Understandable, but not okay.

"I'm sure." Kyouya replied. "However, I intend to surpass his influence before it comes to that." Lofty ideals, for a man on his way to the gallows.

She wondered what that meant, feeling slightly more relaxed than before. She knew he didn't want to hear it, but she was beginning to fall asleep, (miraculously), and felt as if she had to say it. "Senpai, no matter what happens, thank you for what you've done for me." She turned over a bit, propped her chin up on his chest, so she could face him. "You've given me opportunities I've never had before..."

There was _so_ much she wanted to say. "And I don't regret anything. If nothing else, you've given me time to recover and move on from my past." Moving on from Senpai though, that's where the trouble would start.

He looked down at her. He'd taken his glasses off long ago. It only served to sharpen his intense gaze. "No regrets." He echoed. "Whatever happens, Haruhi, we're not going back to your old life." Even if she couldn't continue with this one.

She wanted to just believe him, take his word and fall asleep peacefully. "I hope so." She murmured, reaching up to touch his face gently. She ran her fingers along his jaw before retracting again. "Should we get some sleep?" What else could she say? Nothing seemed to fit.

"Yes." He replied. "We've got... School tomorrow." Among other things. He put a hand atop her head, giving her hair one last gentle stroke. "Good night, Haruhi."

She blinked, not letting herself leaned into the hand like she wanted. "Good night, Senpai." She took one last look before turning to lay her head back down on his chest.

Quietly, he pulled the blanket up to cover the both of them. He would have moved her, normally. But, just for tonight, he allowed yet more indulgence. Both of them were so warm and secure. It was almost perfect. For that single moment, he pictured what marriage might be like. But only for a moment. He must have really needed that sleep.

She was becoming quite dependent on that darn alarm clock. She stirred, burying her face in her pillow. This pillow was _hard_. She opened her eyes partway, peering up at- Oh, yeah. She'd fallen asleep on Senpai. Watching him sleep was kind of like watching... nope. There was nothing that was as strange as seeing his busy eyes unhidden by glasses, peaceful expression on his face. Slowly, she tore herself away and stumbled out of bed. As she crossed the room to find her school clothes, she remembered.

_Crap. That_ was happening today... wasn't it? She wavered the still air for a moment, before deciding to continue with her to-do's and treat today like it was any other.

She wanted to make this morning special for Senpai. She called for breakfast and tea first, before going to find Senpai's uniform. She laid it out on the bed, observing it for a second before hearing the knock and trotting to get the tray. (She didn't want to wake Senpai just yet)

Once breakfast was ready, she wondered if drawing a bath was too much. The time frame they had before school began was plenty to enjoy such a luxury with though, so she headed into the bathroom and began filling the tub. The cabinets were stocked with bath salts and bubble bath, so she added those for good measure.

Once everything was ready, she went to wake him. Taking his shoulder gently, she began shaking. "Senpai, it's morning. Wake up."

Bizarrely, Kyouya had no trouble waking up today. Maybe it was the somewhat disturbing dream about his father. Or maybe it was the realization that today might be the last time he ever saw Haruhi again. Either way, he was up and alert faster than he could ever recall having been. "Thank you, Haruhi." He was almost disappointed, having grown so used to waking up beside her in these last couple of days. "Good morning."

She smiled. "Good morning! Senpai, I've had breakfast sent up already, and there's tea. Would you like to eat first? I've also gotten a bath ready for you... if that's your wish." She wanted him to enjoy this morning, no matter if it were their last or not.

He gave her a slightly tired smile. "Very good, Haruhi." He climbed out of bed. "That sounds nice." He was quite tempted to invite her to join him. Warm and comfortable in the tub together... Was the last thing he needed, actually.

She felt slightly uncomfortable with how _comfortable_ she was in this kind of situation. She knew exactly how to draw bathes, undress someone, and bathe them like a professional, (she kind of was, actually?), so she was fine following Senpai to the bathroom quietly. She stood just inside the door, waiting for him to turn so she could get to work.

It took him just a moment to realize that she'd followed him in, and a minute more to struggle with the temptation to let her stay. "Haruhi... Why don't you eat breakfast?" He offered, ever the diplomat.

She frowned. Was he trying to remind her that food was still of the utmost importance, even today? "Of course. I was planning to." She raised her eyebrows though, not sure if that was what he'd meant. She motioned to him. "Shall I...?"

"That won't be necessary." He replied. He hoped he wouldn't have to explain his reasons again. It was just so uncomfortable in the car last night. It made his logic sound flimsy and brought about more temptations.

"Why?" She hadn't meant to let the blunt question slide, but there were moments, such as this one, where she absolutely didn't understand Senpai. "Aren't you going to take the bath?"

"Not if you intend to stand there until the water goes cold." He replied. To prove his point, he set to work undoing his own buttons.

Well, _you_ interrupted me, Senpai! She thought, shaking her head and crossing the space. "Then let me do my job, will you?" She swatting his hands away and finished the shirt. She began to circle him to tug it off of his shoulders.

He pulled back awkwardly. "That's quite alright." Why couldn't she understand the temptation that she was?

She held the shirt uncertainly. "You refuse my gift, then?" She was beginning to learn her own power over Senpai, and this may be the last chance she had to flex that particular muscle. She looked up at him, half imploringly, half confused.

He stomach knotted. He had trouble saying no when she looked at him like that. And, well, this_was_ their last day together. He sighed, and let his hands drop to his sides. "Very well." He finally conceded. It wasn't going to turn into anything, right?

She brightened, folding the night shirt quickly and setting it aside. Then, dropping to her knees swiftly in front of him, she reached for his elastic waistband and tugged his pants off more quickly than she would have liked. "Raise your foot, please." She said, waiting until he complied to pull the leg off of that foot, than copying the procedure on the other. She stood, and placed the now-folded pants on it's friend on the counter.

"Thank you." He said awkwardly. He shouldn't have agreed to this. "Will that be all?" He managed.

She frowned. She wasn't allowed to finish? Although, he did look terribly uncomfortable. "If that's what Senpai wants, I suppose."

"I want..." He wasn't sure anymore. "I want you to be comfortable."

Oh, he shouldn't compromise here. But, she had said she wanted it... He'd turned her down so many times, and she _wanted_ it, he wanted it. So bad.

She knew she shouldn't be so happy about that answer, but she was. "Tell me if you want me to leave," she said, pausing to look shyly into his eyes before circling behind him again. She'd learned long ago that it was easier to disrobe this last thing from behind; no wait, that wasn't with Senpai. She paused, fingers on his boxers for a second before slowly peeling the elastic off of his skin and sliding them down to his feet. She didn't look up as she leaned down, giving him the same instructions as before; "Raise your foot, Senpai," she said, removing the article swiftly, and putting it neatly with the rest. Eyes modestly averted, she stilled herself for the moment and said, "You can get in whenever you're ready,"

His skin was taunt over his tense muscles. This was highly irregular. But, not so much in a bad way... "Thank you." He coughed. He backed his way toward the tub, unable to look at her. No, no, no, he couldn't do this.

"Would you like to join me?"

Her eyes on the floor, she felt her whole body go on overdrive. Join him? But, but, she was going to shampoo his hair and wash his back and maybe give him a massage... Join him?

"I, uh, if... if Senpai wishes." I suppose. She couldn't look up. She couldn't look him in the eye while allowing herself to think of dishonoring his trust but... he'd asked, right? She couldn't be completely to blame, even if he was just joking.

Nope, nope, couldn't do this. She wasn't into it. He'd overstepped and now everything was awkward and painful. Shouldn't have done that. Foolish.

"No, never mind." Smooth recovery.

He'd been joking. She found herself only half-relieved, because the other half had been thinking about the delicious closeness they would have had in that bathtub. But he'd been playing with her mind, confusingly so. She'd begun to think that he wouldn't do that sort of thing, but it _was_Senpai. Anything could happen with him.

She waited until he'd sat down to move over behind his head. "Tell me if it's too cold," she said, voice almost at a whisper. She'd found a bath cup before, and dipped it in the tub so she could wet his hair.

Oh, and she was still here. Couldn't she see what torture this was? "It's quite fine." He replied. Honestly, he was too hot internal to tell.

She poured the water over his head a few times, her hand acting in as a protective shield for his eyes on his forehead. Once his hair was wet, she poured the shampoo into her hand, working it into her hands before beginning to run her fingers through his hair, scratching lightly and pulling when she came across tiny knots. "Does that hurt?" She asked, a bit worried she was being too rough.

He let out a soft, almost content sigh. "No. You're fine." He let his head tilt forward. He tried not to think of this as him and Haruhi bathing. No, it's just... Something else entirely. No, this was fine.

She grinned at his reaction, rinsing out the shampoo quietly and began with the conditioner. She let it sit for a moment, running her fingers through his hair a few times before standing and moving to the side of the tub. She held a washcloth soaked with body wash gently, picking up his hand on the side of the tub so she had room to begin running it up and down his arm, trying her best to make it feel soothing.

Slowly, his muscles unwound. This was, actually, quite relaxing. He closed his eyes, wishing he would have thought of this earlier. No, this isn't breaking any rules. She wanted to,it wasn't sex. It's okay. Everything's okay.

He felt himself dozing. Maybe he wasn't as awake as he thought.

She smiled to herself as she noticed his heavy eyelids. She washed both of his arms, then moved behind him again. "My lord, please lean forward." She needed to wash his back.

Ah, yes. He did so, slowly. He probably could have asked him to fly right now, and he would have agreed.

She stared for a moment. It was strange, she'd never really found men, (or anyone), attractive, but this person's skin just begged for her to decorate it with kisses. Snapping out of it quietly, she ran the cloth up and down his back, pouring water down it slowly to rinse it off. When that was done, she set aside the washcloth and stretched her fingers for a moment. _I've been practicing all my life, so I better make this good,_ she thought, carefully placing her hands before beginning a slow, deep, massage.

He started, the touch of her hand almost startling. He let out a shaky sigh. He should tell her to stop.

He melted under her skilled hands.

He really should have let her do this more often; his back was full of knots. She dug her arm into a particularly messy one, working from his shoulders down. When she'd reached as much as she could, she gently pushed him by the shoulders farther down. "Excuse me, Master," she murmured apologetically, now able to work on his lower back.

He let out an unintentional moan. He cut it short as quickly as he could That was very reminiscent of other things which were off limits. "Right." He managed, leaning forward more still.

She's rubbed out all tautness, his back probably feeling boneless by now, and she knew she should have moved on. After all, she was done with his back. Against her intentions however, she began running her fingers up and down it, wishing it could have been her mouth instead. She swirled her fingers all over it, wanting to elicit another reaction from him, (but unsure if she could actually _do_ that).

He let out a loud sigh. He couldn't recall a time when he'd felt so good. So calm. So... Happy, even.

Oh, right, school.

His head snapped up. "What time is it?"

She colored, a bit embarrassed to be the cause of his worry. "It's fine, Senpai. We're almost done. I made sure we had plenty of time."

He sunk slowly back into the tub. Well, there goes his only other excuse. It must be fate.

She relaxed and rinsed out his hair, before standing and stepping to face him. "Would you like breakfast? I can bring the tray in here, if you wish."

Sigh, decisions, decisions... "No. I should get out." His protest was pathetically weak.

Okay. "Than let me get your clothing, Senpai, so I can help you dress." If she was going to do this, she was going to do this _right._

He nodded lazily. She really could be magical. He worked is way out of the tub, a very difficult exercise for one with no spine.

She returned to see him slouching. It was a strange sight, and one she didn't expect to see again, (particularly because of today...). And naked. She tried not to blush, she'd handled herself well with men and their... parts before. (It wasn't like that, though. When Senpai was naked, it didn't make her want to vomit or run away, something she'd never had the experience of knowing before) Setting the clothing down, she traded that for the towel and decided to start easy. "If I'm too rough, let me know," she said quietly, gently running the expensive towel through his fingers and up his arms.

He'd pretty much given up protesting at this point. They both wanted it. This is okay. "Thank you."

The whole process was slow, (she couldn't imagine being able to function more quickly than this), and felt extremely intimate. She had to stretch to get behind his ears, and dragged the bath mat over for him to stand on foot by foot so he wouldn't step back down into a puddle. Not to mention the rest of him. Next, she found his underthings, stepping him into them quietly, not making a sound. She couldn't imagine a better way to be, literally, on her knees before him.

Despite the awkwardness earlier, he somehow felt so right now. Like this was how they should have always been. The two of them, together, alone, and so content. Now would have been the perfect time to say it. Three words...

No, not today. Of all days.

She buttoned his shirt slowly, not wanting this time to end. She knew now that she was completely at ease with Senpai, and trusted him to unfortunate heights. It was devastating, and quite motivating, to think that she might never see him again. She'd put the tie around his neck. "I've never been taught to tie a tie," she said, smiling sheepishly up at him. "I apologize."

"No, I shouldn't think so." Not an entirely useful skill to a lower class slave, he suppose. He went through the motions slowly, showing her how to do it. She was so close to him...

Just this once, he wanted to kiss her. No, he needed to. He leaned in, so close.

She looked up from the tie, his face so _dangerously_ close. But, she was filthy. "Senpai," she breathed, their lips centimeters away from touching, "my mouth is disgustingly soiled," But she wanted it so _badly_. She couldn't; HE shouldn't!

She couldn't keep away from him last night. And now, she would deny him this one thing? No, she needed to remember that she was no slave.

For her, he kissed her. He pulled her close, breathing into her, forgetting today for just a little while.

She moaned into his mouth immediately, torn between kissing him back with everything she had and breaking it to remind him where her mouth had _been_. He was dirtying himself! No matter where she'd gone, that was one thing she'd never been able to forget; kissing wasn't for something as low as a whore.

But it felt so good. And Senpai had kissed _her._ She let her arms tangle around his neck, losing her fingers in his wet hair.

His arms tightened around her. He never wanted to let go.

For just that moment, they weren't the former whore and the rich boy who purchased her. They weren't in immediate danger of losing each other for good. They were just Kyouya and Haruhi, and they were in love.

She knew she should pull away first, and it took all of her effort to unlock her mouth from such a heavenly place. Laying her head on his chest, she sighed, wrapping her arms around his middle. "We need to go to school soon, Senpai." She absolutely didn't want to, not after all of this. She'd much rather stay and spend perhaps their last day together quietly, just the two of them. But they had commitments and she knew they_ both_ needed to treat today like any other day.

"Ah. Yes, you're right." One wouldn't have guessed he'd just (finally) kissed the woman he loved for the first time. Back to business for him, as usual. "Do you have all of your homework together, than?"

She clung to him for a bit longer, milking it as long as she could. "Yes, it's all packed and ready to go. I called your driver, too, and asked him to come for us at the usual time." He was so... taut and firm and absolutely perfect to hug. Fleetingly, she wished he could just pick her up and carry her to the car so she wouldn't have to let go.

"Very good. Thank you, Haruhi." He let out a deep breath, as if attempting to exhale all of these complicated, inconvenient feelings. It didn't work so well.

"Let's go."

She took his jacket with them out of the bathroom, (they'd both forgotten it in the heat of the moment), and presented him with his backpack, packed as well. "We could bring breakfast with us, if you'd like." She held out the jacket for him.

He checked his watch. "Yes, I suppose we'll have to." He would have liked a fine, leisurely breakfast, where they could discuss things and bounce ideas off of one another... But that kiss was more than worth it.

It was evident as she blushed for absolutely no reason other than Senpai's presence, that she was one big ball of nerves today. She couldn't help but wonder if school was going to drag by as she waited to get tonight over with, but shook off the idea in order to grab both of their bags, and teeter to the door.

He followed after her. He knew she didn't need it anymore, but he slid an arm around her waist. It might have been his last opportunity.

They slid into the car, and Kyouya fought back a wealth of physical memories from the day before. That was behind him now.

She made sure he ate this time; a welcome change from their normal meals, and ate almost everything she'd set out to. She'd just put away the breakfast things and was going to take his hand, when they arrived at school. She retracted, but wished she didn't have to do so. She slid out of the car awkwardly, still trying valiantly to carry both of their bags, and waited for Senpai to join her.

"I'll take that from here." He went to take his bag, disguising a simple gesture of brushing his fingertips gentle against her knuckles. He hoped it was at least somewhat reassuring." Take care, Haruhi."

She shivered, even at that lightest little touch. "I'll see you at lunch, Senpai." She said, waiting until he was a few paces gone before she approached the building herself.

He shook out his hand, this electric tingles plaguing him against. Yes, he would see her at lunch. Then at Club. Then, a few precious hours until...

He resolved not to think about it until then. Let's see how well that plan works out.

She didn't like how the first half of the day went by so quickly. A lot of days would drag by, feeling absolutely never-ending. Today, however, was going unfairly fast, and before she realized it, she was already going to the lunch hall with the twins.

Hikaru had one of her arms. "You shoulda been at club yesterday, Haruhi! We pulled the _best_prank on the Boss."

Kaoru laughed, taking her other arm. "Heh, yeah, I think he was even crying!"

Kyouya tried to slip into the lunch room discretely. He really didn't want his fangirls catching him today.

Haruhi frowned. "That doesn't sound very nice. Besides, he cries all the time on his own; why would you need to force him?" They entered, Haruhi looking around hopefully for Senpai.

"Ah, I guess ya had to be there." Kaoru amended.

Kyouya spotted her across the room. He tried not to react to strongly, out in public like this. He couldn't help but be happy to see her, though

She realized her lunchless-ness. Today, it was all her fault, wasn't it? Well, best not bother Senpai over something so menial. She turned to her arm-bearers. "Hey, I forgot to pack a lunch today; would you guys mind spotting me for something?"

Kaoru looked more than okay with the idea. The quickest way to the heart was, after all, the stomach. Not that he was after her heart or anything. "Hey, sure! C'mon, pick whatever you want!"

Hikaru joined in, "Yeah, don't worry about it! We always get too much anyway."

Haruhi smiled. "Thanks, guys." Now she didn't need to worry Senpai with this, too.

"Heh. Sure."

Kyouya felt horrible. He's forgotten to provide her with lunch yet again. Ah, and she went to the twins first. Fine. Fair enough, It was only their last day together.

She took the tray and said something about 'sitting all together as a club!' before making a beeline to the empty seat next to Senpai's. She sat down, her chair close enough to his to hide her tiny, fluttering, stroke to his leg. "Hello." She smiled. "How is your day, Senpai?"

He slipped a hand under the table, taking hers just briefly. "Very well, thank you." He shot a glance at the twins. "And how about the three of you?"

She squeezed it before letting it go. "Ahh, fine. I guess." She rolled her eyes. "They're... unique."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" He didn't really sound offended. He knew she was just playing, right? He took a seat next to her before his brother could nab it.

She looked from Kaoru to Hikaru, in the seat across from her. "You guys think like very few people on this planet. That's all."

Hikaru rolled his eyes and strung his fingers behind his head lazily. "You got that right!"

"So, Haruhi, what are you doing after club today?" Kaoru asked. He had a feeling he wouldn't be getting the truth. "Me and Hikaru are going rock-climbing. Wanna join?"

She felt her heart drop into her stomach. "Can't," she lied, "Tests are coming up, remember?"

Hikaru rolled his eyes again. Cradling his head in his hands on the table, he said, "Awe come on, lighten up! You're only gonna be young once, you know!"

"You've got time!" Kaoru insisted. "Come on, it'll only be a couple hours!"

"Perhaps the two of you could learn something here." Kyouya muttered.

Haruhi ignored both comments. "No. Maybe some other time. You guys will probably go rock-climbing again, and that time I will try my best to say yes if you invite me." She took a bite of her food.

Kaoru wilted. "You're so boring." He still couldn't help but wonder if studying was really the issue here. Don't think he didn't notice the fact that she was immediately drawn to Kyouya.

She really wanted to talk to Senpai during the lunch period, but with the distractions of the others, _that_ never happened. The rest of the day raced by at horrific speeds and she felt as though she were suddenly at club.

No, things were going so fast. When did this ever happen?

As always, Kyouya was a master at putting on a good face, even in the midst of his emotional chaos. No reason to cause the fans distress, after all.

What was the cosplay for today? She found a Wonder Woman costume hanging in her stall, and rolled her eyes. They really didn't get this whole _hidden gender_ thing, did they? She exited to find Kyouya adjusting his Batman spandex.

It was hardly a comfortable costume. Still, he could make due.

He was more irritated with Haruhi's, honestly. Not only did it show almost everything she had off to the world, it was hardly flattering. He had no doubt that the twins had more to do with this than Tamaki. She was, after all, his precious daughter.

That thought gave him a small idea.

Tamaki adjusted his Super Man wig. He looked over to see Kyouya and Haruhi dressed, squealing. "You both look so perfect! I _knew_ you'd be perfect for that one, Kyouya!"

"I suppose it is fitting, in a sense." Kyouya wasn't exactly a comic book affecianado, but 'brooding millionaire genius' always sounded about right. "Although you and I are going to have to have a talk about the issue of concealing Haruhi's gender very soon."

But-but. She looked so pretty. He looked from Haruhi to Kyouya, nodding, (albeit very confused), "If you want, Kyouya. Right now we should get ready for our guests, though. We can just stand here and talk all day!"

For once, he wished they could. "Hm, you're right." He smoothed out his strangely-fitted clothes, and left for his table. Just act natural.

Haruhi's table was in love with her costume, strangely enough. About halfway through their time, she stopped the idle chatter the girls were laughing about, and grinned naturally. "Ladies, I have a special request for you." She motioned they should lean in with her.

They just about died. A special request? From Haruhi? They got to do something special, _just for him?_ "What is it, Haruhi?" "What can we do for you?" "Haruhi has a request for me?" Swoon.

Her table was, by no coincidence, directly in Kyouya's line of sight. Seeing them all happy like that... That was a good thing.

"Well," She said, glancing at Senpai's table coyly, noticing his briefly look, "Kyouya-Senpai's really shy about it, but today is really important for him." Uh, she scrambled for something to slap on today. "Well, two years ago... his pet cat died. He had that cat for his whole life, and he really loved it. I was thinking, will you ladies help me make him cards for him on this tough day?"

There was a collective gasp of pity. What a kind heart Haruhi was! Showing so much concern for her senpai. (One girl quietly remarked to her friend that she profusely shipped it.) "Of course we will!" "Haruhi is such a gentlemen!" Blah, blah...

She smiled. Even when they were so overly passionate about everything, it was a bit endearing. "Thanks!" She said, pulling out paper and markers, and let the girls get to work.

The table was a mess of paper and ink in quite short order. One girl even suggested glue and glitter. It was somewhat refreshing how simple everything was in this place. In this little host club. Maybe that was why Kyouya liked it so much...

The cards done, and their time gone, Haruhi hugged each of her guests goodbye, (just in case), and began cleaning up their pretty mess. Tamaki had wandered over shyly. "Haruhi?" He wrung his hands nervously. Maybe they shouldn't have made her Wonder Woman! "Do you need some help?"

Haruhi looked up, smiling. "Yeah, that would be great! Thanks, Tamaki-Senpai."

Kyouya watched them. It couldn't wait. He needed to talk to him before the left, he decided. Maybe while Haruhi was changing. He was the only person, he decided could do it.

Tamaki's heart raced as he accidentally brushed Haruhi's arm. He dropped the paper scraps, stumbling over his words. "I'm so sorry! I'll pick them up right now!" He's dropped to his knees, picking up the bits and pieces carefully.

Haruhi rolled her eyes and joined him on the floor. "It's fine, Tamaki-Senpai. I don't care."

Kyouya got his table cleared in short order, and approached to help Haruhi with he cleanup, as well. "Your table seems to have made quite a mess."

She jumped up, grabbing the cars and hiding them nonchalantly behind her back. "What? Nothing. I mean, yeah." The table was clean in no time, and Haruhi tried not to look to Senpai for permission as she stated, "Okay, I'm going to change. This is uncomfortable after a while."

Admittedly, Kyouya's eyes may have also briefly followed her. He took a quick look around the room. The twins must have been off changing. and Huni-Senpai was already asleep, Mori carrying him out.

"Tamaki. I have a favor to ask of you."

Tamaki flushed a bit and tore his eyes away. "Yeah? You know I'd do anything for you!"

Oh, he hoped so. "There's something I need to explain, first." He adjusted his glasses. This was going to be painful. "Haruhi is... Is not my brother-in-law's cousin."

Tamaki's eyes widened. "Kyouya, you said she was! Who is she, then?"

He glanced back toward the dressing rooms. "She is... Was..." No, he'd kept so quiet about it, he found it almost unnatural to speak of it. "It's not important. What is, is that in the very near future... She will need to rely on you."

"I'm a terribly reliable person, Kyouya." Tamaki said, grinning debonairly. Wait, what did Kyouya mean? "But, is something wrong? You look worried."

"I can't say for sure what will happen..." Kyouya began. There was just too much to cover. "But her world may be falling down soon. And I won't be there to help her. Can I trust you to look after her?"

Tamaki swallowed hard. Her _world_ may be falling? "I need to go comfort her now!" He said, over-eager as usual

Kyouya took his shoulder. "No, not yet." He took a slow breath. He wanted this time to be about well... Just the two of them. "Just promise to be there when she needs it."

Kyouya looked really serious. He nodded slowly. "Of course! I'll try my best not to let her down, Kyouya. Or you," He added quickly, a bit frazzled with this request to say the least. If there was one thing that Kyouya Ootori didn't do, it was ask for favors. "Kyouya, where are you going to be?"

"I don't know." He replied. How could he explain that he might not even be gone? How could he explain any of this? "I just won't be there for her."

He smiled. "This must be really important to you, Kyouya." He stepped forward, taking his friend in an awkward hug. "Don't worry," he said, patting Kyouya's back. "Everything's going to be okay."

'Oh, if only you knew.' He wanted to say. 'If only you knew how bad things were right now.'

But, of course, confiding in colleagues was a weakness which Kyouya didn't possess. He simply stood, waiting for the hug to end.

Tamaki let go, his wig sliding precariously. "We should go change, eh?"

"Please." Kyouya replied. This was really ridiculous. He moved off to the dressing rooms.

When Haruhi was back into her proper uniform, she sat down with her book bag to wait. Her nerve levels were growing to horrendous heights, and she had to wiggle and tap and twitch simply to not _scream._

Kyouya didn't take too long. It was just plain sad how good he was at getting in and out of tights these days, thank you, Tamaki. Now that the costume was off, it felt like club was officially over. Which meant going home. There was nothing left to do now but wait.

"Are you ready?" He asked after leaving the dressing room.

She hopped up, dropping her book bag, and picked it up just as swiftly. "Yeah. We should go right now."

She seemed just as eager as he did. Maybe it was finally getting to the point where the waiting was thee worst part. He grabbed his book bag. "Right. No use waiting around."

They walked out side-by-side, Haruhi walking stiffly and leaning forward a bit, as if she could cut down the air currents around her to get out of the building faster. "Senpai, what is he going to ask me? Really, what do you think?"

He thought about it. "I suppose he'll want to know your history." He replied. Even Kyouya didn't have a complete picture. "And of course, what you could offer this family."

She shivered. "Senpai, I have no history. What can I possibly tell him that would make him happy with me?" She thought over her checkered, (okay, mostly dark) past, and couldn't_imagine_ trying to explain it to Senpai, much less anyone scarier.

Nothing. Nothing this girl could offer could possibly impress that man. "Just tell him the truth." He said. "Tell him,and don't grovel."

She nodded, hefting her bag farther up her shoulder. What could she offer to this family? She could barely take care of herself without Senpai's help! "I won't grovel." I _won't. _"You'll be there." She said it as a statement, a command, rather than a question.

"I will." He nodded resolutely. Would he, though? "You will show him all the strength and intellect you've shown me."

Had she? Still, she nodded resolutely. "Will your brother be there?" Kyouya was supposed to know everything; she almost felt as if she could just ask what she would say that would impress that man, and Senpai would tell her, free and easy. No, she had to stand on her own legs tonight.

"I don't think so, no." Kyouya replied. This was his problem, after all. Akito had no business whatsoever being there. Which probably meant that he would. He was going to give the situation the benefit of the doubt, however. "Whatever happens, we'll make the most of it."

She took his hand on a whim, holding it firmly to stop her own from shaking. "Okay." She shouldn't have said her next words, but they were true. Three words that shouldn't have had any business in _her_ filthy mouth, but there they were, coming as easily as sunrise.

"I trust you." She couldn't look at him though, clinging to his hand but otherwise keeping her eyes on the ground.

His hand flinched, maybe trembled a bit. Finally. He hoped beyond hope that she meant it.

But now, the pressure to make things right was almost unbearable. He'd made her such a large promise... Could he deliver? He would have to, now

Haruhi realized only _after_ she was in the car that she hadn't even thought about Senpai's driver handing her in. She certainly had gotten used to the easy life quickly, hadn't she? She shivered, looking at the floor of the car and wondering what it would be like going back to it.

Back in this car again. It seemed all of their important memories were in here. It almost felt ominous now, being in here, on this day.

But he wasn't going to let it get to him. He still had a few hours, and he was going to use them to enjoy her, not dread what may come. He reached over, again taking her hand.

She looked to their hands, twined again, (when did that become so natural?), then up to him. "Senpai..." She said quietly, not sure what she could say.

He had no more words on the matter, either. He didn't know enough to tell her what to expect, and he had no kind words of encouragement that carried any weight. He felt like he was drowning in all this; He barely realized when the car pulled up in front of the mansion once more.

Oh, they were here already. She realized she'd been daydreaming, (kind of); "How much longer until he gets here do you think?"

Kyouya checked his watch. "Around three hours." He replied. What could he possibly do to make these next three hours count?

he flinched. "Alright..." What _could_ they do? They both seemed too tense for their own good, which wouldn't help her at_ all. _Actually, if they needed to loosen up...

"Then we should start my dancing lessons."

He blinked. It was almost silly, the thought of it. But then... Why not?

"Very well then." He shooed his driver away, offering Haruhi his own hand instead.

She took it (gracefully?) and allowed him to hand her out of the car gently. Goodbye, Limo.

Uncaringly, she wound her arm through his. "Where will we dance?"

"I believe the foyer would provide adequate space." He replied, sending one of his butlers a quick text to have the speakers and player ready. "Are those shoes comfortable for you?"

She looked down at her feet, wondering at her shoes for a second, never giving them much thought. "I suppose. I don't have others to choose from though, so these will be fine."

He thought to the boxes of items Fuyumi left behind when she was wed. She continually claimed she would came back for them, but it had been almost a year and no such thing had happened.

Ah, no, another time maybe. They would have that, right?

He lead her to the foyer. It wasn't quite as ridiculously large as the one at school, but it would do.

"We'll start with a simple waltz, alright?"

She nodded, standing at attention, unsure of what to do with her hands or feet. "That sounds good."

He took her hands, gentle guiding them to the proper positions. "Start like this. Now, as the lady is always right, begin by taking a step forward with your right foot." He nudged gently at her foot with his toes.

She snorted at the remark, never quite hearing anything like that _that _way. She stepped, but lost her balance, sending her reeling into Senpai. Into his firm stance, (of _course_ he didn't fall; that man, honestly), she mumbled, "Sorry. I mean," She paused, trying to revive herself from the mild embarrassment diplomatically, "let me try it again."

That response seemed to please him. "Very well." He took her hands once more, placing them in the correct position. "Don't over-think it. It's much easier than it looks."

The music began playing softly in the background, and Haruhi tried not to think so much about her feet, and just enjoy the fact that Senpai was holding her, leading her, even romancing her in such a way. She smiled up at him, albeit a bit more sad than she would have wished, and let herself melt in his eyes. "You're a very good dancer," She said after a moment.

"And you're a quick study." He replied. "It's important to make eye contact with you partner. If you can keep it up, all the better." Just to test her, he through in a little turn at the end of the next box.

She twirled out, learning the steps by the feel of the music, and the pressure from Senpai's hand. When she came back to him, she sighed happily. "Thank you. Senpai, when we dance next, will I have to wear fancy clothes?" She couldn't say she was fond of them; also, she'd purposefully said 'when' instead of 'if'. They didn't need that right now.

"Perhaps." he replied, still keeping in perfect step. He glanced at their feet, starting a short promenade. "My family attends a charity ball every spring. I would be honored if you would accompany me."

Her stomach twisted into knots. That was like, a date. She could be his date? She fumbled a bit with the new set of steps, trying to focus on Senpai's silent instructions instead of ohmigoshwhatishecrazy? She was, obviously, flushed from embarrassment, (again), but stammered out a, "Um, yeah, that would be great. I'd even wear whatever you wanted me to for it." She really hated formal wear.

"I'd like to see that." He replied, his voice a subtle blend of dreaminess and devilishness. He spun her once more as the song wound down.

She spun into his softly, letting the song finish as she looked everywhere but her instructor. "Was that..." This was too much to handle. "alright?"

"Very good, in fact." Kyouya replied. She was a little shaky, but he had no doubt that, with practice, she could be a suitable date to the charity ball. If they- When they got a chance. "Let's try it once more before moving on to the foxtrot."

She followed his lead for the next two songs, feeling much more at ease after stretching her muscles like this. "Arai-San told me about dancing. I always thought it sounded harder when he described it."

"It always does." He recalled a few of his very early, somewhat disastrous dance lessons. A dark secret never to be mentioned. He was perfect at everything, after all. "You have a good ear for music."

"Thank you," she said, wondering if Arai's lack of dancing finesse had to do with his middle school-status at that point. "Music is one of the best things in life, or at least that's what my father used to tell my mother. It's something I'll miss-"

She caught herself, but knew it had already been obvious what she was going to say. Instead of rectifying it, she fell quiet, turning under Senpai's arm.

"You'll not want for anything." He said, very quietly. And that was the end of that. "Perhaps we should try the salsa, next."

She paused, looking up at his face pensively. How could he say that? She was desperate for an excuse to not worry, but she couldn't imagine how Senpai could help her if someone like Arai-Sama got a hold of her again. "I-"

No, she just wanted to dance. "Alright."

It was strange. He'd been so fixated on time today. But, suddenly, he lost every concept of it. He wasn't even aware of how many songs had played, how many awkward stumbles and beautiful, eye catching moments they'd had. For once, he was just living in the present, teaching his love how to dance. And it was wonderful.

Until the maid announced that Ooroti-Sama's plane had touched down.

Haruhi tripped into him at the news. "Senpai, my clothes!" She suddenly cared a _lot_ how she looked, so would her school uniform be enough?

"We've got a bit of time." He assured her. "Come on. I'm sure I can find something suitable for you."

She took his hand as he began striding away, once again nearly running to keep up with him. Her heart was slamming so hard she couldn't speak coherently, wondering how long they actually _had._

Yoshio Ootori stepped out of the plane stoically, not at all impressed by his Pilate. Hm. Maybe he'd find a new one. Again. This was almost getting ridiculous, having to replace people every week. As customary, his driver stood waiting, bowing politely and offering a, "Welcome home, Ootori-Sama." His bow was not low enough, and his tone absolutely deplorable. Someone else was with the driver though, causing the man to agitatedly squint to find his middle son waiting for him. "Akito, what are you doing here?" He asked, instead of 'hello'.

He took Haruhi to Fuyumi's old room. It was mostly cleared out. There were talks of turning it into a room for another live-in servant, but somehow no one could bring themselves to actually get it done. Tucked away neatly in the closet were three or four boxes of clothes that she hadn't worn since... Well, since she was around Haruhi's age.

"Welcome back, father." Akito replied, never missing a beat. He bowed politely. "We have a few things to discuss on the way home."

Narrowing his eyes, Yoshio took in his son, trying to deduce his purpose here. "As long as you keep it short. I am very tired, and have many things to do."

Haruhi's eyes widened at the selection. "I can wear any of this?" Even with the room almost empty, the boxes held more clothing than Haruhi had ever owned in her life. "What do you think would be best?" Talking really was getting to be a bother; which wouldn't work out at all if she was to succeed tonight.

"I don't doubt it, father." He stepped aside. "I feel we should discuss this somewhere-" He dropped his voice just a bit. "Where the public won't hear."

"Hm. This isn't a formal event, so I would leave the dresses out." Kyouya replied, sifting through the mess to find something that didn't look terribly dated. He came up with a lovely, business-casual sort of ensemble.

It really was just pathetic how good he was at this sort of thing.

He raised an eyebrow. "The car will be suitable. Get in." His son was known for his bouts of stretching the truth, so he wasn't terribly worried. In fact, it seemed an almost unfair annoyance that Akito would come at _all, _given the time frame he had to close this deal.

She took the outfit and changed into it quickly, smoothing down her hair and emerging to find Senpai. "Does this look okay?" She'd never worn something... like this before.

"I know you're short on time, father, so I'll just get down to it." Akito adjusted his seat belt. "It seems Kyouya has taken in one of those filthy black market slave girls."  
>Kyouya paused a moment to look her over. "You look... Wonderful."<p>

Yoshio frowned. It wasn't as if that was _unheard_ of, actually it was getting to be fairly accepted, in the right circles. However, the media could have a field day with such a scoop, which would reek havoc on Kyouya's image, thus causing damage to the son he'd wanted to turn his company over to. "What brings you to this conclusion? I've always been under the impression that you held the belief that your brother's affairs were boring and complicated."

Haruhi sat down on the unmade, unsheeted bed, twirling her thumbs and tried to get a hold of her heart. She was desperately nervous, even in the fancy clothes.

"It's not an assumption." Akito replied. "She told me herself. Oh,and I should mention... I think he _really_ likes her."

"Stay calm." He told her. "He'll know if you're nervous."

She clenched and unclenched her hands, wishing to be anywhere but here, about to meet one of the richest businessmen in the country. She snorted softly. "He's like a bear, huh? He can tell if I'm scared?"

That wasn't acceptable. "You, of all people, should know that I don't care who my sons are involved with physically, Akito." Emotional attachments were definitely cause for someone to step in, though. "I'll talk to him when we arrive, and come to my own conclusions."

He smiled, though it was far from a happy smile. "Yes, something like that." He was scarier than any bear he could think of. But saying that was hardly the confidence boost she needed right now. "Just remember. While I'm here, no one can hurt you."

Akito glared at his hands, folded n his lap. "Yes, Father." Oh, but there was no other conclusion to come to. One look at the two of them and it was obvious he was totally love-struck. You'll see.

They heard the maids scrambling before anything else. Haruhi began shaking violently. "I can do this. I can do this. I can do this!" She doubled over, shaking from the over-whelming urge to retch for a moment, but not able to bring anything up. When she'd recovered, (enough), she looked up to Kyouya. "We should be there to greet him, shouldn't we?"

"Indeed, we should." He offered her a hand. This was it. No more waiting. He felt an eery sort of calm, perhaps he simply couldn't believe that this was happening.

She stood with him, pausing before realizing this may be the last time they were together, alone. She stood on her tip-toes, just barely able to reach high enough to place a tiny kiss on his lips. "I guess we should go, then."

There it was, that electric spark again. He felt so numb when she pulled away. "Very well." He wanted to take her hand. He knew he shouldn't. It would give a very emotional first impression of their relationship, and he knew-

You know what? Forget it. He might as well know the whole truth from the very beginning.

He took grabbed her hand, and took her to the entryway.

The servants were _almost _in perfect 'welcome' formation as he entered his house, causing him to wonder if the classes he'd required they attend did anything. Or maybe he'd been gone too long. In any case, Akito had followed him, (pouting like a child, exactly why he'd never even been considered for the company), and after scanning the group there once, he'd spotted his youngest and the girl. "Kyouya," he said, his glasses hiding all expression. "I'd like to see you and your little friend in my office, if you please." Now.

Haruhi didn't let her grip on his hand tighten, feeling she would look much too childish doing that.

She'd bowed when appropriate, but she already had a bad feeling about this. Either this man was generally very unpleasant, or he had had a terrible day.

Oh, no, he was just unpleasant. Kyouya gave a low bow. "Yes, father." He replied, his tone even. So, Akito had gone through with it already. He expected it, but wow. He had a terrible brother. He lifted his head, holding it high and proud as he walked Haruhi to the office.

She tried to ignore Senpai's brother's perverted stares at her, setting her face at an even expression, and let Senpai lead her.

Of course he'd noticed that they were going so far to hold hands in front of him. Kyouya knew well that first impressions were crucial, and still had chosen to let his be_ that_ of the girl. He sat in his desk chair, motioning for the two-no, three of them to sit as well. (He secretly reveled in the fact that the chair was so formed to him; unlike the ones he'd endured while gone) "Kyouya, you have an obligation to this family." He motioned roughly to the girl. "What is this?"

Kyouya took his seat, stiff and mannerly as expected of him. "Her name is Haruhi." Kyouya replied. "She showed promise, so I've chosen to fund her education."

Akito didn't quite manage to stifle a gross snicker. Is that what he's calling it?

He laced his fingers together on the desk. "Fund her education. And where have you found the funds to take on such a project?"

Haruhi shifted, feeling as if this weren't real; it was just another nightmarish dream. It wasn't though, so she cleared her throat and said, "Ootori-San, if I may, Kyouya-Senpai has set up a system so I can earn my own way through high school."

Kyouya nodded. "I have secured funds through my own means, which she intends to pay back in full over the next few years."

He didn't move, but 'hmm'ed' to himself. "And where did you meet this girl, Kyouya?" He raised an eyebrow slightly, a bit curious, but mostly interested in how the boy would answer.

"It was a chance encounter." He replied. Details were not entirely necessary.

Chance. He'd taught his son better than that. "And what do you expect to gain from such an expense?" He was beginning to feel strongly that his son had no idea what he was doing.

"Gain, Ootori-San?" Haruhi spoke up, calling all three of the others back to her. "Gaining implies that there were goods or services exchanged in a transaction; I would think that it is always beneficial to one's self when they strive to have the best possible relationships with people, not only for personal and emotional benefit, but also for future allies."

Kyouya did his best to hide a little smirk. He knew she had a bite to her, somewhere in there.

"'Future allies?'" Akito scoffed. "In what way could you possibly be a useful ally?"

Hm. The girl had more in her than he'd assumed. He folded his hands. "Very well. Kyouya, you may be dismissed," he said shortly, ignoring Akito's comment, (as the girl seemed to be doing), and sitting back slightly.

Haruhi couldn't believe how eloquently she'd just spoken, and in such a nervous state. She looked up to Senpai as he complied, keeping her hosting mask perfectly intact.

Kyouya slowly rose from his chair. He took a quick glance at Haruhi, and gave the man a stiff bow. He wasn't sure how he was expecting things to go from this point on anymore. Things were actually going sort of well. Better than he'd envisioned, anyways. Wordlessly, he left the room.

Yoshio watched the girl carefully, noting any of the subtle changes in her face and posture as Kyouya exited. When the boy was gone, he picked up where he'd left. "Haruhi, I am going to be very frank with you, and I would appreciate it if you gave me the same sort of respect." The light caught his glasses. "Who are you to my son?"

She took a breath quietly before answering. "To be honest Sir, he found me as a slave and took me in. I'm not sure why, but he's offered me opportunities that have allowed me the chance to realize what I would like to do with my life."

He was a bit shocked, (not entirely, though), that she'd decided to be so honest. "A slave? And do you serve my son?"

"Not very well." Akito scoffed.

"Be still, Akito." He warned, his gaze not wavering.

She sighed. "I thought to, when I first came here, Sir. I tried and he wouldn't allow me to do any of the things I'd been taught." She looked up at him firmly. "And now the things I do for him are completely my own choice."

Interesting.

Akito shut his mouth. He crossed his arms and listened. It was,in it's own way, interesting. But that wasn't why he was here. He wanted to see her properly punished for her disrespect of authority.

"What of your parents, Haruhi?" They couldn't possibly be of high standing, or even a moderate one; he'd never heard of anyone having a daughter this age that he didn't know.

"My mother is dead, Ootori-San. And my father lives alone across town." Blunt.

He laced his fingers. "I see. And did they approve of your social status?" To put it nicely.

She scoffed a bit. "No. Would you of your daughter?"

If her own father couldn't be bothered to put her up, why should the Ootori family have to? If she earned her keep around her, that was something else. But this was freeloading, plain and simple.

"And why didn't your father rescue you, Haruhi?" He was a very observant man; and even then, she was doing a wonderful job of hiding her discomfort.

"He... couldn't, Ootori-San. The same person who killed my mother would have killed me."

If she was telling the truth, that was very interesting. If not, than that was a very flimsy lie. "And do you think this person would have gone through with disposing of you?"

She felt a faint shiver run down her spine. "Yes,"

Now his interest was piqued. He did love a good crime drama, and this sad little tale of hers had all the right trimmings. Sex, romance, and murder. And, of course, a healthy dose of deception. Did she think they were morons?

"Look, Ootori-San, I realize that there aren't very many reasons to let me stay, but I do intend to pay my debt, and I honestly believe I can help your son." She bowed her head a little, trying not to grovel. But she had to be allowed to stay!

"On the contrary, you seem to have a very quick intellect, and you were right about relationships building allies." He shifted, wishing he had a nice cup of tea right now, "However, my son needs to become all that he possibly can become. Any distractions should be put in their rightful place, to keep focus."

Ah, there it was. Finally coming to it. "I suggest we sell her to recoup the loss."

He turned to Akito and harshly said, "I suggest you _be still._ You have the unfortunate tendency to act like a child, Akito. Might I suggest trying to act your age if you'd like any part of your inheritance?"

Haruhi was (almost) literally on the edge of her seat. She wanted to call out how much she wouldn't be a distraction, but couldn't see that helping. She waited, heart thudding quickly.

"Akito, go fetch your brother. And don't come back in here until I call for you." Yoshio looked over his glasses. "Is that clear?"

Akito scowled. "Yes, father." He said, though his tone implied something more along the lines of 'screw you.' He excused himself from the room, and found Kyouya waiting beside the door. "Father wants you." He said bitterly.

Kyouya steeled his nerved, fighting back the nervous jitters threatening to wrack his body, and entered the room again. He could take whatever the man had to say.

Haruhi wouldn't let herself relax when Senpai reentered. Her fate was about to be decided by this obviously grumpy, tired, man.

"Kyouya," He said, motioning to a seat. "I have something I've been meaning to discuss with you."

He took his seat,next to Haruhi where he felt he belonged. "Yes, Father?" He asked in clipped tones.

"I have a business partner in Karuizawa, and I'd like you to go discuss some upcoming plans with him." The boy was tense, that much was obvious. His answer would reveal quite a bit, though. "Would you be willing to leave tonight?"

What? Just what was this all of the sudden? Haruhi didn't look devastated or elated. Had they not come to a decision while he was out?

Wait. No, this made sense. Suddenly he understood. He didn't like it. But, he had faith in her.

"I'd like to leave as soon as possible."

He smiled, having known the answer before he'd said it. "Very well. I'll give you the details in an email. Also, I would like you to leave Haruhi here. Please don't try to get in contact with her, in any way." He looked from one to the other. "Is that clear?"

Haruhi didn't know what was going on, but it didn't sound like the imminent doom she'd expected. So she nodded, murmuring a quiet, "Yes, that's fine."

"Perfectly clear." Kyouya replied with a nod.

This was, actually, a good thing. She must have impressed him in one way or another. Still, he wasn't sure his father would do much in the way of protecting her. He would have to shoot Tamaki a text. Soon.

"Sir, I do think goodbye's would be in order, though." She spoke up, casually trying to get a few minutes alone with Senpai so he could _explain what was happening_. "He's been acting in as my tutor while I catch my grades up, so it would be best if I discussed a few things with him before he left."

She was a very diplomatic girl, in her own way. He shook his head, amused but not smiling. "I'll give you a few minutes so I can make his travel arrangements. Nothing more, though."

Haruhi smiled, "Thank you, Sir," she said, resisting taking Senpai's hand to leave the room. "I won't be a minute."

He didn't take her hand, either. This was a victory enough, best not flaunt it. He took her out of the room, and immediately brought out his cell phone. He composed a quick text as he spoke to her, quick and efficient.

'How fast can you be at my house?'

"He hasn't entirely made up his mind." He explained. "This is a point in your favor. He wants to ensure that you won't be a distraction to me." And possibly see how she handled without him. But he really didn't want to put that kind of strain on her.

She tried not be the scared little girl she'd been around him before. (Because the only thing she wanted to do was cling to him and cry happy/stressed tears) "Senpai, he scolded your brother but not me. Is that a good thing? Who are texting at a time like this?" She glanced at the phone, a bit annoyed that _anything_ could be more important... (wait, what was she thinking?)

'10 minutes, I'm on my way.'

"That's a very good thing." Kyouya replied. "Though scolding Akito is no unusual event, the fact that he refrained from criticizing you... Ah, but don't keep your hopes to high." He checked his messages. "I'm texting Tamaki. I won't be here to protect you from Akito. I'm enlisting some help."

Her heart sank suddenly. The realization of the situation was finally sinking in, and she couldn't help but get nervous; she hadn't been apart from Senpai since, well, before he'd bought her. She hugged him, taking in every detail of the embrace. "Senpai, I... I need you to stay safe."

"It'll be alright, Haruhi." Slowly, he slid his arms around her, as well. He tilted his head, lips just barely brushing the top of her head. "I know you'll be strong."

She was going to say something else when they were interrupted by a maid. "Ootori-Sama, your car is ready."

Haruhi broke the hug quickly, straightening her clothes. "Goodbye, Senpai."

He let go, his hand lingering just long enough to take her hand, very briefly. "It's only a few days." He said, before letting go. "Take care, Haruhi."

* * *

><p>AN: You guys. u The stuff were doing recently you're gonna LOVE omg. I was tearing up and it was all hot and omg. Seriously. So, just so you now, things are gonna get better. ^^ I love reading all of the reviews, you guys! For real, I love hearing from everyone. 3


	20. Sleepover

'Have one of your guest rooms prepared before you get home.' Kyouya texted back.

Of course he'd been watching them on the cameras. They really seemed to care about each other, if nothing else. Sighing, Yoshio ran his hand over his hair and wondered if _any_ of his sons would be suitable to take this company. Ah, the information on his little goose-chase. He began writing the email.

Tamaki arrived moments after Kyouya had gone, baffled but still worried. "Haruhi!" He called, smiling and jogging over to her. He stopped, taking in her sweet, sad expression as it passed in an instant. "Haruhi, are you alright?"

She tore her eyes from the road. "Tamaki-Senpai, can I stay at your house for a few days?"

Huh? What? Haruhi wanted to spend the night at Papa's house? His eyes practically lit up, if only for a moment. "Eh, really? Why? Oh- not to say I have a problem with it! I would be honored to have you, but-" He noticed a lack of Kyouya come to greet him. He remembered his words from earlier. "Is everything alright?"

She looked around, shaking her head. "It'll be fine. Let me grab my school things." Actually, Akito was in the house. "Will you..." How to ask him to come without just asking him to come? "Help me with my bag?"

He wasn't sure he bought that. But, she obviously didn't want to talk about it. "Oh, but of course!" It's what a gentleman does, after all. "Where do you keep your things?"

She began walking, realizing Tamaki was about to find out that she'd shared Kyouya's room. "Uhh, over here." Maybe he wouldn't realize?

Oh, but he realized. He immediately went to searching for an alternate explanation.

'She's not my brother-in-law's cousin.' He'd said. He wouldn't say what she was. But... Well, what else could this mean?

"Oh." He said. Not quite sure what else to say. Ah, change the subject. "SO, where has Kyouya gone off to, hm? He and I had plans this weekend. Perhaps you could join us!" Ah, yes that wouldn't be painful.

She entered the room and gathered her things quickly, thankful they were all still packed from school that day. (She had almost nothing else, anyway) "His father sent him on a business trip." Away from me.

"Ah! What a shame! We were going to have such a wonderful time!" Something about his dramatics seemed... Just a little hollow.

She had everything she needed. "I'm ready, Tamaki-Senpai." She looked around the room, reassuring herself that _yes_ she would be back, and soon, too.

"Very good!" Tamaki pumped his fist. "I promise you, Haruhi, daddy will make this the BEST weekend you've ever had!"

She rolled her eyes, exiting the room simply to get away from the memories. "You're so weird," she said, but secretly very thankful for the blonde. She would say thank you! In the car...

Tamaki politely chattered on on their way to the car about simple things, like the club, or his wacky servants, or whatever struck his fancy. It was only once they were int he car that he seemed to calm down just a bit.

This was odd. Being in a car without Senpai, just casually acting as if she were important. No, Senpai made it very clear she wasn't supposed to think that way.

"Thanks for having me, Tamaki-Senpai," she said, wishing she could be as eloquent with her words all the time as she'd been earlier.

He gave her a big grin. "It's my pleasure, Haruhi!" HE dropped a hand on her shoulder. "That's what daddies are for, after all! Oh, what should we have for dinner?"

Ew. Dinner. She shook his hand off, disguising it as a shrug. "I 'unno. Whatever you want, I guess."

"Oh, alright! I'll have them make something wonderful for you!" HE grinned. "OH! Is this like one of those commoner's slumber parties?" How exciting.

But, wait, why would Kyouya want him to have a slumber party with his girlfriend? Something was very amiss here

"I guess," she said, a bit snarky. "I've never had a slumber party." Actually, food sounded really good right now.

"Me neither." He responded. "But I've heard many things about them! We stay up late telling scary stories, and sometimes we toast marshmallows! Would you like to toast marshmallows, Haruhi?"

She wrinkled her nose a bit. She didn't like fires, or matches, or lighters. But he was making such a nice effort... "Maybe tomorrow night? I'm exhausted. But, we could invite everyone else if you want!" She said, trying to make up for it, silently lamenting Senpai's absence at such a silly little charade.

"Oh, how could I have been so careless!" He thought aloud. She DID look so very tired, and here he was going on about marshmallows! "I'll have the best room made up for you!"

She put up her hands immediately. "No, no! No need for any of that!" But would she be able to sleep on her own? "I don't need anything special, Tamaki-Senpai... but if it could be the closest room to yours, that would be nice." Smooth. "To make it feel more like a slumber party!" She blurted.

He flushed a little. Would Kyouya be okay with that? "Well, you're the guest!" He replied with a smile. "You can have the room right across the hall."

She sighed. She could do this. Wait, was she expected to accomplish anything this weekend? She couldn't imagine she wasn't. "Thanks, Tamaki-Senpai. I'll try not to be a bother."

"Oh, but Haruhi, it'll be so fun!" He squirmed in his seat. How could his precious daughter ever be a bother?

Ah, right. The optimist. She smiled at him, ignoring the urge to go 'host', and said, "Yeah, you do seem to make everything more interesting, Tamaki-Senpai." To say the least.

He tapped his fingers together shyly. "Eh? You really think so?" he chuckled quietly. Was Haruhi complimenting him? Or something? He cleared his throat, and switched back to his customary posture. "Well, I shall try not to be so interesting that I keep you up! A lady needs her rest!"

She smiled softly, wondering when it was that they started making such caring men. "Thanks, Senpai."

No, wait. This was Tamaki, not Kyouya. She pretended to doze off for the last few minutes of the trip.

Tamaki stayed quiet. It was so rare that it was just the two of them, and now that it was, he had no idea what to do with himself.

So, she was Kyouya's girlfriend? Lover, even? Huh. Usually he was so good with character, but he would have never, honestly, have guessed this. He wasn't quite sure how to feel, either.

Where-? Oh, had she actually fallen asleep? She opened her eyes slowly, wondering why the car's seats felt so strange. It wasn't until she saw the blonde waves next to her that she remembered. Her immediate reaction was to text Sen-

No, couldn't do that either. When had she seen him last? She looked at her phone, calculating back. One hour and seven minutes. Gee whiz, how the time sure flies!

The car had stopped, but she didn't move, looking to Tamaki for... (what, really?) "Is this your house, Tamaki-Senpai?"

"Impressed?" He asked, lifting his thumb and forefinger to his chin on what he thought was a really debonair and classy gesture.

It was smaller than Senpai's... "Uh, sure. Bigger than anything I've got, at least."

"Oh, but don't let that intimidate you!" He slipped out of his seat belt. "Here, let me show you around!" He climbed out, quickly running around the back of the car to hand her out. Like a proper French gentleman,.

Oh, if anyone from her past could she her now. She smirked. "Are your parents home now? I don't want to get in their way..." She could only imagine the two characters that had made the host king, probably with ten crazy schemes at a time and more in love than ever. She shivered. One was enough for her.

His smile faltered momentarily. "Oho, no, no. Father lives in the main house with grandmother. So it's just me and the servants."

She looked up at him. He looked kind of like her father when he said that. She decided to leave the obvious question out, (Where is your mother?) and smile. "Well then, we'll have the run of the house for the slumber party tomorrow, eh?" Even though she didn't really want to have one...

"Yes! We can even have_ three hour long_ pillow fights!" He seemed to perk up rather quickly, as usual for him. It didn't suit him to dwell on sad things for too long. "It'll be amazing!"

Ugh. That sounded horrible. But it _was_ Tamaki, who _was_ putting her up so kindly. "Amazing!" She echoed, hoping he would forget that particular plan by tomorrow.

"You really think so!" Wow, Haruhi seemed so open today! He wondered if maybe she felt she could let her hair down now that Kyouya wasn't around? That must be it. Poor thing must be suffocating under that stuffy brute's influence!

She paused, weighing her words. Finally she sighed, "Well, no, it sounds really tiring. But I'd really like you to have fun this weekend, so if a long pillow fight is what makes it fun for you, than I'll do it." Hopefully that wouldn't crush his spirits or anything.

He paused. The calm before the storm. "Oh, Haruhi, this is what's so wonderful about you! You're so caring and considerate of other people's feelings!" Actually, no, she wasn't. But she was right now, so she might as well be, in his mind. He gave her a big ol' hug, nuzzling the side of her face in an overly affectionate French manner.

She rolled her eyes, unsticking him calmly. "You said you wanted to show me your house, Tamaki-Senpai?"

"Oh, that's right! How thoughtless of me!" He took her hand. "Come, come, and welcome to the Suoh Mansion!" He twisted his free hand about, flourishing to the house.

She looked up at it, ignoring the hand-holding as well as she could. "It's lovely." Although she was a bit tired, and not so much in the mood to take a tour. This was gonna be a long weekend.

He didn't so much give her the grand tour, as point out which room was which as they passed on the way to the guest room. He did understand that she was tired, the poor dear (didn't even want marshmallows!) He stopped in front of what was presumedly her room. "Ah, here we are. Are you to tired for dinner? Or do you want me to send it up to you? Or do you want a shower first? A nap? A massage?"

She stared for a moment. Was he serious? "I'll uh," She had to eat. Remember? Food had sounded good a little bit ago. "Take dinner in my room, if that's not a problem."

"No, it's no problem at all!" He replied. He almost asked if he could join her- but... Being in a girl's room? Especially a girl who was spoken for. Now that would just be indecent. Unless if course she got lonely. Then it would simply be indecent to leave her alone. Oh, but Haruhi was so quiet, she would never ask for anything of the sort. What a fine line to walk! "Would you, ah... Like some company?"

Actually, yes. She scratched her head and shrugged noncommittally, not wanting to make him feel as if he had to. "If you'd like. Give me a few minutes to change, though."

"Oh, oh, yes, of course!" He replied, giving his forehead a little bop. Silly him. "There's some pajamas in the dresser, and a bathrobe hanging in the closet, if you need them. You can keep them, if you like!"

She laughed. It was like a fancy hotel. "Thanks. Well," She shifted her bag further up her shoulder. "See you in a few minutes?"

"Yes! Yes you will!" He replied heartily. "Just relax, and I'll have everything taken care of!" He dashed off, like a little kid in an amusement park.

She watched him for a second before entering her (new) room. It was big and luxurious and the decorations were rich-looking, but completely opposite from the simpler ones at Senpai's house. She sank down on the bed after a moment, letting herself bury her face in her hands. Senpai...

He'd arrive in Kuruizawa late. To late for any reasonable business to begin, unless the two of them wanted to stay up all night discussing the issue. This was never a way to get people to do what you want.

Kuruizawa... A flag went up in his mind when he thought of the place, and only just now was it beginning to don on him. This 'Arai' person she always talked about. He lived here. He'd looked into the name once or twice after hearing her mention it, but never thought much of it. Perhaps, while he was in the area, he might look into things...

About ten minutes later, there was a gentle, but enthusiastic knocking at her door. "Haruhi? Are you still awake?" The tone of his voice seemed to imply a whisper, though he did it very loudly.

She'd finally dragged herself off the bed a few minutes before to put on pajamas. "Yeah, come on in, it's unlocked."

He opened the door, holding a tray in one hand with the expertise of a fancy waiter. "I brought dinner!" He proclaimed, in case such information was not immediately forthright.

It was late, but not terribly late. Certainly most people were still awake around eight-thirty. A quick search on his phone, and he'd found the Arai residence and their phone number. Perhaps he should arrange, at the very least, a meeting of sorts.; But, what would he say...?

She chuckled. "So you did. It sure smells good."

The younger of the Arai brothers was tending to his nighttime chores when he heard his brother stumbling towards his room. He stepped in front of the bed protectively, knowing full well he was about to get a visitor.

"Kid, stop-" His brother barged into his room, burping in the middle of the sentence, "Stop tellin' people our numb...ler."

Arai tried not to roll his eyes. Obviously drunk. "Is that for me?" He asked, motioning to the phone. The quick toss alerted him that _yes,_ it was, thanks for asking. He caught it and waited until his inebriated sibling was gone to answer. "Hello?"

"So it should!" Tamaki crossed the room gracefully to set the tray on her nightstand. He removed the cloche with a flourish. "Ours is one of the highest rated classical French chefs in the country!"

"Kuretate Arai-San, I presume?" Came a cultured, smooth voice from the other side of the phone line. "This is Ootori Kyouya. I'm calling on behalf of Fujioka Haruhi."

Arai almost dropped the phone. "Uh, no, this is his brother, Hiro Arai. Haruhi? Is she okay?" He'd been so worried for her since she'd gone.

She sniffed and sighed happily. Maybe she would get along with French food better than Japanese. "Thanks for bringing it; I think I'm starving." Nope, her stomach just growled. Did she eat lunch? Oh right, the twins had gotten her something. Still, the food looked heavenly.

Ah, this was the nice one, as he recalled. "She's doing quite well these days." He replied. Hm. Now that he was here, just what did he want with this man? "I had some questions. From the way she speaks of you, I've come to assume you could offer me some insight."

"Ah, me too!" Tamaki replied. He unfolded her napkin, laying it gracefully into her lap, before taking his own. "I do hope you like it! If not, I could always have Jacque make you something else."

She took a bite, noting that the look and smell had _not lied._ "No, this is wonderful. Perfect. Tell Jacque that he's a master." To say the least!

Arai warmed a bit at the thought that she still spoke of him, considering what she'd _been_ through here. "Uh, I could do my best. Did you want to meet or something?"

Tamaki smiled widely. "Good! Good, have as much as you want, there's plenty to go around!"

He fell quiet for a short time as he began eating his meal. But, finally, he worked himself up enough to ask the question."Say, Haruhi?"

"I did, in fact." He replied. "I'll be quite busy in the afternoon. Perhaps we should meet for breakfast. How about Misuzu's Pension at eight?" The proprietor was a friend of a friend, you might say. And something not to expensive for someone like Arai to visit.

He delivered there from time to time, so he agreed quickly. "What's your name? I don't want to sit down to the wrong person." He laughed a little; even the years of wear and tear it had taken couldn't wear down that laugh completely.

Haruhi didn't pause, but raised her eyebrows. "Hmm?" (It was too good to pause!)

"Ootori Kyouya." The mysterious voice replied. "Don't worry. I'll recognize you." He didn't leave much room for debate, as he cut the connection.

A-ah. She was so cute... "Um... I don't mean to pry, but are you and Kyouya... Ah... Involved?"

Arai looked at the phone for a second. Hm. Well, it was a mystery that would simply have to wait for morning. He turned back to the bed, groaning as a new problem presented itself.

She stopped and cocked her head. "Involved? Involved with with?" They were involved with the host club, and school. Did he mean that?

He flushed a little. "Ah, with, er, I mean, with each other..."

"Oh," She said, musing. "Sexually. Sorry, I didn't catch that." She thought for a moment. Well, they hadn't _consummated_ or anything, but if the passionate scenes in the car and bathroom were anything to go by, than... "It's... complicated, Tamaki-Senpai." She sort of hoped that would placate him.

AAAH HARUHI SAID THE DIRTY WORD- No. no, be cool about this. You're a man! A man can handle these sorts of discussions. "Oh." He squeaked, in a very mature and manly way. "I see. Alright then."

He watched him flinch before going back to her food. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, it's nothing!" He replied. It really wasn't any of his business, it was just... Oh, why did his chest feel so tight? "Only curiosity. He's my friend, but he's very tight lipped about his personal life, you know? Ha ha..."

She chewed thoughtfully for a moment. "Yeah, Senpai does have a tendency to shut down, doesn't he? He thinks very highly of you, though. I know that for sure."

"Oh, but of course he does!" He attempted to alleviate some of the awkwardness with his usual chipperness. "We are best friends, after all!"

She smiled, glad Senpai had at least _some_ people in his life he didn't have to worry about so much. "You are, aren't you?" She took the last bite. "And that was delicious; thank you so much for bringing it up."

"But of course." He replied. "Oh! I could bring up breakfast tomorrow, too! Would you like that?"

She yawned. "Yeah. That would be great." She couldn't believe how exhausted she really was. Today had been a _long _day.

"Oh, right, you're tired." He hopped to his feet, hastening to gather the dishes. "What time do you like to wake up on weekends? I'll ask you not be disturbed until then! Or do you prefer to be woken up? There's an alarm clock on your nightstand, but when should I have breakfast ready?"

She curled her toes under the covers, enjoying the delicious overly-comfiness of this bed. "Hm? Oh, I don't care. Whatever time you wake is fine, I guess. No worries." And this pillow! She'd never seen it's equal.

"Oh, alright. Then we can maximize our sleep-over time together!" He cheered. "Or, wait, is that something I shouldn't say?" She was Kyouya's girlfriend after all. "Ah, well, um, goodnight, Haruhi!"

She laughed. That idiot. "Good night. Sleep well." She knew she would.

"Yes, you too!" He seemed a bit reluctant to leave. But, of course, decency got the best of him. He stepped quietly out of the room, taking the plates and tray with him.

She snuggled down, thinking about Senpai. Only two more days.

Arai knew he was a bit late, but he'd been up all night and didn't wake up to his alarm. He entered the little place and offered a friendly hello to the caretaker. Now, where was that Ootori guy?

A young man, not much older than Arai himself, seemed to have been watching the entrance. He stood, straightening out his very professional looking suit before approaching. "Arai-San?"

He smoothed his hair, a bit aware of their clothing's contrast. "Yes, you must be Kyouya Ootori? It's nice to meet you."

"It's a pleasure." He replied. He would have liked to come dressed more approachably, but he did have a business meeting right after this. "I've reserved us a table, if you would." It seemed he'd reserved a couple of tables, as the one he motioned to was surrounded by empty tables. He didn't want anyone listening in, after all.

Arai raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. They sat down, but Arai couldn't get comfortable. "You mentioned Haruhi Fujioka on the phone. Do you know her? Is she alright?"

"Quite well, in fact." He replied. Although the wryness of the statement was sure to go over the heads of anyone not directly involved. "As I said last night, she's adjusting quite well. I understand she spent quite a bit of time at your residence?"

He shifted awkwardly, though he'd never done anything wrong in the situation. "Yeah. My brother just showed up with her one day."

"I see." He replied. "Did she ever tell you anything about her mother?"

"No." He didn't know much about her past, really. "I couldn't get to her most of the time, so I don't know a lot of things about her." Things he knew he should have asked. But not when she was so weak, so fragile. And his brute of a brother hadn't given her much room to be anything else.

"Hm." Well, this was a bit of a waste of time. Ah well, he supposed. It was worth trying. "Well, all the same, I would like you formally thank you for taking care of her when you could." If only he knew he very special it was to get a genuine 'thank you' from an Ootori. This stuff didn't just happen.

He frowned. "Uh, sure. Who are you to Haruhi, exactly?" He didn't want to imagine if this cold, calculating smile had bought her since she'd left.

"That's a fairly complicated matter." Kyouya replied, lacing his fingers. "All I can say for sure is that she is no longer some common whore."

He tried his best to like people, to be kind to them even if they weren't although nice to him, but this was _Haruhi_ they were talking about. "So what, she's your special one?" This man could tear him to shreds, financially, he was sure of it, yet he had to say it. He had to show his disgust.

He tilted his glasses just ever so slightly, strategically hiding his eyes with the glare. "You might say that." He replied. He stood. "Thank you for your time, Arai-San."

Arai wanted to call out, try to get him to come back so they could talk properly, without all this vague crap, but instead just watched him stand to leave. "My pleasure. I guess."

"Ah. Also." He produced a business card. "If you happen to remember anything, feel free to give me a call." He placed the business card, and a substantial tip on the table.

Remember anything? About what? Her mother? "I will. Hey, Ootori? Is she happy?"

He paused. All of this stress on her lately, and all of that preconceived pressure to preform before that. Was she happy, really?

But then... There was the kiss.

"She's on her way." He replied.

Arai smiled. "Good. If you need anything for her, I can come day or night; don't hesitate to call." He knew the other wanted to leave.

"I think she'd appreciate that." He said. "I'll see you around. Arai-San."

He smiled, hoping his bad impression had been off. "Bye, Ootori." Weird.

Tamaki stood outside of Haruhi's door. He was generally a very early riser. She'd told him to wake her up when he got up, but maybe she wasn't prepared to get up so very early? She didn't know, after all. And the thought of barging into her room. What if she slept in the nude!

He gently knocked at the door.

Haruhi wasn't used to such a quiet intrusion, mostly recently used to Senpai's alarm clocks, and screaming or kicking before that. So she only stirred and turned over sleepily at the knock.

Ah, perhaps he should come back again later. She had looked _so_ very tired last night. Maybe one more hour wouldn't hurt.

Haruhi opened her eyes, wondering why this bed was so huge and empty. The decorations were all off in this room. "Senpai...?" She mumbled blearily, rubbing her eyes. Oh right.

A little while later, Tamaki had tiptoed back up the stairs. Which was, overall, a rather silly way to go about it, as the walls were so thick with high quality insulation, and the carpets so plush, he could have been followed by a marching band full of elephants and not disturbed a soul.

He knocked at her door once more. "Haruhi?"  
>She sat up. "Come in." It was very strange to wake up alone. She didn't like it.<p>

Ah, there she was! He pushed the door open. "Good morning, Haruhi!" He cooed. Ah, she even looked adorable so early in the morning. "It;s a beautiful day out!"

She yawned, feeling much better than she had last night. "Good morning." She looked around for the clock; "How did you sleep?"

"Very well, thank you!" He replied. It dawned on him that standing in her bedroom like this was a little awkward. It felt kind of shameful, somehow. But oh well. "How are you? Did you have enough blankets?"

She snorted softly. "I was extremely comfortable, thanks." Senpai probably wouldn't like such a cushy bed. "Should I get dressed to go down to breakfast?" Since it was Tamaki's house, she didn't want to break any unspoken rules.

"I could bring it here!" He replied. "It'll be more sleep-overy that way!" That's the sort of things commoners did at sleepovers, right? Breakfast in bed? Sounded right.

She stretched her arms and legs. "Sure! Whatever you want! Did you want me to call everybody else about tonight while you do that?"

"Oh! Yes, that would be great!" He replied. "Don't you think? Although, it'll feel very strange to have a club meeting without Kyouya." Oops, he probably shouldn't have said that. She must be missing him terribly!

She folded her hands and examined the floor thoroughly. "Kyouya will be back soon, so we shouldn't miss him too much." She looked up, trying to lighten the moment. "Besides, if we need someone to be a downer and do money calculations, I can handle that for today, right?"

He let out a little laugh. Good, she wasn't missing him enough to lose her sense of humor. "Oh, but then what would Kyouya do when he came home?" He ran back tot he door. "Stay there, Haruhi! I'll get breakfast!"

She wiggled her toes, picking up her phone absently. There wasn't anyone who could stop her from just texting him, right now, was there? No, these were the Ootori's, and Ootori-San probably had ways to check to see if they were faithful with their promise. To get her mind off of that, she dialed the twin's number, though still wondering when _exactly_ Senpai would be back. Not that she needed him.

Kaoru was ecstatic to see Haruhi's name on the phone display. "Hey, Haruhi!" He greeted. "Good morning?"

"Morning," She said, kicking against the bed lightly. "Tamaki-Senpai and I wanted to see if you guys wanted to have a slumber party tonight at his house." She paused. "Okay, so mostly Tamaki-Senpai wanted to have one."

Kaoru furrowed his brows. Tamaki and Haruhi were having a slumber party...? This was weird. "Heh, yeah, we're in! Sounds fun." Weird, though.

"Alright." What did one normally say in a phone conversation? (Did she spy another lesson with Senpai? She wished they could start that one this weekend while he was gone...) "Well, he'll text you a time then, okay?"

Hikaru rolled over to put his ear up to the phone, too. "Is that Haruhi? Hi, Haruhi!"

"Yup." Kaoru replied to his twin before picking up the conversation. "Sounds good, Haruhi! I can't wait to see you in your pajamas." He let out a little giggle. "C'ya!"

She rolled her eyes and ended the call. The conversation with Huni-Senpai was pretty similar, with promises of cake and Usa-chan. "I'll tell Takashi, too!"

When that was done, she hopped off the bed, wandering around the room to kill time until Tamaki-Senpai got back.

And he did come back, again with his dramatic entrance, cloche in hand. "Sorry to make you wait!" He smiled brightly. "So? Are we having a big club sleepover tonight?"

"Yup. Everyone's in. You'll have to text them a time though. What are we going to do all together?" She was beginning to feel a bit apprehensive about putting herself in this situation.

He thought about all the commoner's movie he'd watched for research purposes since Haruhi became a part of his life. There seemed to be a lot of snacking and gossip involved, and sometimes- "Oh! I just got the best idea!" He whipped out his phone for a few quick texts.

She fiddled with her phone absently. How would Ootori-San even know if she texted him? Just to find out if he was okay; a minute, tops. Nononono. Can't go there. She stared at the phone, before tossing it haphazardly across the floor to get it away from herself. Not the best plan, but now it was farther away?

Tamaki seemed to take notice of her distressed slinging of electronics. "Eeh! Haruhi, what's wrong!" Had he broken some commoner's social rules?

She looked up innocently. Best play it cool. "Nothing. What are you doing?" Yeah, real smooth.

Yoshio had awoken to a slightly cold tea, and a soggy breakfast. Why had he hired these imbeciles? After getting his paperwork of the day in order, he'd taken lunch, (too hot and dried out), and remembered the phone call he needed to make. He swiftly dialed Kyouya's number, cursing the day anyone made /him/ wait for more than three rings.

He cocked his head. That was an odd response. "Ah, you miss Kyouya, don't you?"

Kyouya had almost dozed off in the car. It had been a very difficult night last night. Somehow, Karuizawa seemed so much colder than home. He could blame that on a few things... His ringing phone woke him up. He scooped it out of his pocket and answer. "Kyouya Ootori."

He sounded horrible, as if he'd just woken up. "Did you seal the deal?" It would waste both of their time to engage in pleasantries.

She paused. "How did you know?" Was she really _that _easy to read? It was a bit unnerving.

"I'm on my way to the meeting now, father." He replied. He'd learned that while his father's approach may have been the quickest, dealing with people on their own time could often yield much better results.

"I can just tell." He said with a soft smile. "Why don't we give Kyouya a call and see what he's up to!" It was late enough in the day that he probably wouldn't hate them for waking him up.

He sat back in the chair, not able to find any fault with it. (This boy, though...) "I would have rather you met with him earlier today, but I suppose what's done is done." He didn't want to _mess_ with his son, per say, just test what he was made out of. Because of that, he cleared his throat and said, "Your girl seems to have spent the night in your brother's room. I was under the impression she would be faithful only to you, Kyouya."

She tried not to let her face show it, but hearing the words made her want it even more. "I... can't. I was asked to let him be this weekend." She twisted the hem of her shirt restlessly. "So I can't."

He gripped the phone tighter, feeling his blood rush. How could he just let her- No.. No, Tamaki came for her last night.

Heh. It was a lie. Well played, father.

"I should say that the fault here lies with my brother, and does not reflect on Haruhi's integrity in any way." He replied, staying cool.

Tamaki frowned. Oh, that Kyouya. Always serious business with him. "Well, how about _I_ call him?"

She blinked quickly for a second, frowning. There had to be a problem with that. Actually, no. That would be a loophole, wouldn't it? And loopholes had never been discussed, so they weren't out of the question. "...Only if you want to, Tamaki-Senpai." She didn't realize how tightly she was gripping her hem.

Ah, good. He'd seen through it. The pause had given him away; Kyouya never spoke without thinking things through, and if he hadn't, he would have probably reacted harshly with little restraint. "Indeed. And what will you do when her loss of integrity is at the fault of her own hands?"

"Oh, I think it would make his day!" Tamaki replied, whipping out his cellphone once more. "You don't think he's in his meeting yet, do you?"

"That doesn't concern me." Kyouya replied. That wasn't entirely false... "I don't keep her around for her 'integrity.'"

Interesting. "Email me the new statistics once you've come to an agreement." He changed the subject. Very interesting. "I want a full report." He hadn't seen his son's tactful, diplomatic, passionate, side in quite a while. He ended the call, turning back to his work. Hm. He also needed to send the girl her assignments today.

She nervously shifted on the bed. "I don't think so." I don't know, though. "He wouldn't answer if he were busy though, would he?"

"Haha, not for me." Tamaki replied, dialing his friend's number. As it was ringing, he put the phone on speaker for her.

He'd just replaced his phone, when it rang once more. He removed it from his pocket once more. Normally, he might have ignored Tamaki to focus on business, but... He just needed to make sure Haruhi was with him. "Kyouya Ootori."

She sat up immediately at his voice. She wanted to talk so _badly,_ but couldn't break her promise. He sounded stressed. And she knew she was, at least a little bit. But wouldn't it be better for both of them if they relieved their stress to perform at top capacity? (She knew it would only take a few minutes with him, really) She pursed her lip in effort to just _listen_.

"Good morning, Kyouya!" Tamaki greeted buoyantly. "Haruhi tells me you're on a business trip! I hope you're not working _too_ hard!"

Ah. So they had spoken. Good. He knew that he could count on him. "Only as hard as is required of me." He replied. He listened for any distant sounds that might imply another occupant in the room. Not that that would mean anything. Could be a servant for all he knew. "What do you want?

"Oh, just to hear your voice." He gave Haruhi a little wink.

She smiled, her cheeks hot, still feeling worried. She didn't like how he sounded; his voice was much too clipped to mean anything good. With her legs tucked beneath her, she leaned forward a bit more.

"You heard my voice just yesterday." He replied. He heard the gentle shifting. He could already guess that he was on speaker. Tamaki was being awfully sneaky today. "But I appreciate the gesture." He said softly, more to Haruhi than to the King.

Ah, that was a bit better. She began to sit back, but was a bit too close to the edge of the bed and ended up falling off half-way, one leg and arm visible from the top of the bed. "Oww..." She said, before remembering herself and clapping her mouth closed with her hand.

"Are you alright?" Both men asked in unison. Kyouya shut his mouth, as well. It wasn't entirely out of the question that his father was monitoring his calls, although he doubted it.

"Ah, I'll call you back later, Kyouya!"

"Don't bother. I'll be busy." He hung up. He reclined in his seat just a little bit. Now he could relax. Haruhi was safe.

Tamaki scampered over tot he other side of the bed. "Haruhi, are you alright? You didn't hit your head, did you? Let daddy look at it!"

She rolled off the bed entirely, sitting up with no problem, prodding her head to find any new welts. "Nope, I'm fine. Thanks, though." She didn't know how to thank him for the phone call, so it was all she could do to hope that he understood that that was included. "Should we start getting ready for the party?"

He looked worried for just a moment longer, before remembering the party. "Oh, yes, of course!"

He offered his hands to pull her up. "I think you'll find I'm very knowledgeable in the customs of commoner's sleepover parties!"

"Good." Cause she certainly wasn't. At least not regular ones. "Give me something to do."

"What!" He sounded appalled at the very thought. "I could never ask that of a guest! Don't worry. Haruhi, I'll take care of everything!"

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever." This was going to be a long afternoon, wasn't it? Maybe she should get her phone so she could at least text one of the twins... Nah, too much temptation there. He'd sounded better, (or at least more normal), at the end of the conversation, so she felt a lot better about his safety. (For now)

Tamaki called a few servants, giving them some very vague and confusing instructions as to how to prepare for the sleepover. They seemed to understand well enough, as they soon scattered to fulfill the man's requests.

"Ah, so! What should we do until the party starts?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Shouldn't we help here?"

"No, no, I won't have my guest working!" He replied. "I know! Why don't we go out so the decorations will be a big surprise for everybody?"

She looked at her pajamas, not feeling in the mood to protest. After all, they would be in pajamas for an entire party tonight. "Sure. Where do you wanna go?"

"Hmmmm..." He was obviously thinking very hard about this. "OH! It's the weekend!" He could have smacked himself. "Haruhi! We need to go to the market!Today is when they have all the sales, right? We've got to get the snacks for tonight!"

She was a bit skeptical, (is that what Tamaki-Senpai really did on the weekends? Well, she certainly wasn't one to judge), but shrugged it off and responded, "Sure, sounds good. Let me go change."

"Oh, of course! I'll go get dressed, too!" Although he already looked fully clothes. Rich persons must always look their best.

It only took her a minute, (she didn't have much to choose from), and emerged before her host. She wandered around, getting to explore the house a bit further. It was, in fact, quite a bit smaller than Senpai's, with everything 'down-sized', from the dining area to the bed rooms. She waited the foyer after her brief exploration.

Tamaki soon reappeared, dressed in some tender, layered clothing that probably cost more than three month's rent at her father's apartment building. "Ah, there you are!" He pranced down the steps. "Are you ready to go?"

She stood. "Yep."

Tamaki whisked her off to the car. "Driver! To the commoner's market, good sir!" The driver suppressed a little grin. The young lord was always a little... Eccentric, but he loved him all the same

The Ootori car pulled up in the driveway, the maid sent holding a short stack of papers. She exited and went the front door, delivering the stack to the lady at the door. "Ootori-San asks that Miss Haruhi complete these today," she said, leaving as quickly as she'd come.

Haruhi saw the car, immediately recognizing the insignia as Ootori. "Tamaki-Senpai, someone's here."

"So they are!" Tamaki sprinted over to cheerfully greet the Ootori courier. She politely directed him to the door lady. After a quick stop to pick up the papers, he came quickly back tot he car. "Apparently, these are yours." He tried not to look at the pages. It wasn't exactly his business...

She took the stack and looked over them quickly. What was this...? "This looks like... some kind of homework." Ouran offered a critical thinking class, didn't it? That's what this looked like. Every page covered in scenarios and related questions, graphs, lists... On the top of the first page was a sticky note that read, 'Have this done. I need to grade it before my trip on Monday. -Y.O.' "Y.O.?" The wheels were spinning quickly as she read over the first few problems. "Yoshio Ootori. He sent me homework?"

Tamaki looked perplexed. "Huh? Why would he do that? I suppose Kyouya's father is very particular when it comes to his son's-" It was complicated. Right. He decided not to go any further than that. "Well, than. I suppose the market will have to wait! We can't have you bogged down with homework during the party tonight, after all!"

She sighed quietly in relief. She really didn't want to go shopping. "Thanks, Tamaki-Senpai. I should probably get all of this done before tonight." Her mind was already processing the first of the situations, five arguments begging to be explored. "Is there somewhere I can work?"

"Oh, of course! We have a very lovely library!" He replied. "Come, I'll show it to you! It's the quietest room in the house! Should I ask the servants to light the fireplace?"

She rolled her eyes. "Nah, I'll be fine. Thanks, that sounds fine." Where was a pencil? She desperately needed to start writing these things down. She followed him distractedly through the house to a beautiful, cozy-looking library. Ignoring the tour Tamaki was about to give her, (she did mean to!), she sat down instantly and began working on the packet.

Tamaki was about to go over the organizational system, until he realized how very busy she already worked. This did seem like a lot of work. He decided it was better to leave her alone. "Just ring the bell if you need anything." He threw over his shoulder for her on his way out.

She gave a vague nod, scribbling something down. The time working in the library was very warped, in that when she was about a quarter of the way through, (thinking she'd been at it for an hour at _most_), she heard voices calling her name. She looked back over what she'd done briefly, smiling satisfyingly at how thorough she'd been up until this point.

"Hush, hush, men!" Tamaki chided, "Haruhi is very busy!"

"Relax, boss, she can do her homework tomorrow" Kaoru darted passed to find the library.

Hikaru swung open the door. "Hey, Haruhi!" He skipped over to peer over her shoulder. "Aren't you going to come to the slumber party?"

She looked up finally, mind grinding violently to a halt. "Uh, hi. Oh, yeah." She looked longingly at the papers, then began gathering them up. "I guess I should go change."

"Yup! You can't have a slumber party dressed like that!" Kaoru replied. "I'll go get the music started!"

The servants had done a wonderful job of transforming the house. There were streamers, party trays, and, for some reason, forts built from chairs and sheets littering the household. Like a bunch of pre-teen girls had had free run for a few days.

Haruhi dashed upstairs to change, putting aside her quiet wishes that Senpai could be here tonight. Although, if she had a nightmare and somehow ended up sleeping on Senpai, things might get out of hand. She jumped into her pajamas, grabbing a pillow and heading back downstairs.

Downstairs, the club seemed to be adapting to this 'sleepover' thing nicely, already crowding around a hairbrush to sing loudly to some bubblegum pop song that none of them knew very well. Tamaki passed the 'mic' off to the twins. "Ah, welcome back, Haruhi!"

She hugged the pillow hesitantly, before deciding to sit down next to Huni, who was already deeply involved with his cake. "Thanks. What are you guys doing?" Did singing badly really constitute fun?

"We are enjoying the commoner's version of karaoke!" He said excitedly. "It's alright! Even if you can afford a karaoke machine, you can still have fun! Right?"

She rolled her eyes, nodding noncommittally. It was easy to settle down to this, wasn't it? She lay down on the floor, propping her head up on the pillow to watch. Even when they were being absolutely obnoxious, they were... settling. Not comforting, like Senpai, but restful. She yawned.

"Oh, you can't be tired already!" He squeaked. "We haven't even gone mattress surfing! Isn't that the ideal slumber party activity that is unobtainable under most other circumstances!"

Hikaru threw the 'mic' over his shoulder, skidding on his socks over to drop lightly next to Haruhi. "I don't know what the Boss is talkin' about Haruhi, but you can't fall asleep yet! We haven't even played Truth or Dare!"

Mori held up a take-out bag. "Or fancy tuna."

Haruhi's mouth watered on the latter. "I'm not falling asleep. Tamaki-Senpai, what on /earth/ is mattress surfing?"

"Ha! Recall, if you will, the slumber party scene from the beloved classic 'The Princess Diaries 2!" One can't help but feel an overwhelming sense of desire, watching such a self indulgent gathering! Haven't you always wanted to mattress surf?"

Hikaru giggled, propping his head up next to Haruhi's. "Why would any of us wanna watch a dumb chick flick, Boss? Hey, I know! Let's watch The Matrix!"

Haruhi glanced at the rude twin, than looked up at Tamaki's disappointed face. "I wanna try it, Tamaki-Senpai. What do we do?"

Tamaki dampened briefly, but Haruhi's comment seemed to pull his energy levels right back up.

"Oh, you do? Of course you do!" He took her hand, all but pulling her up the stairs. "Here, put this on!" A set of helmets was waiting for them at the top. Those maids were good at this.

She looked at the plastic hat, not entirely sure how to wear it. "Uh, okay," she said, trying to stall to watch him don his own before she put on hers.

He applied the helmet, adjusting the odd strappy thing under his chin. He clapped his hands, and a pair of maids shuffled out with a large, fluffy mattress. "Thank you, ladies! I'll take it from here!"

She imitated him quickly, feeling ridiculous in the weird, clunky thing. Now what? "So... you just, hop on?"

"That's right!" He replied, barely containing a tiny giggle fit. He laid the mattress down at the top of the steps. "And then we surf right down!"

We? "Uhh, we go together? At the same time? Right now?" She glanced down, suddenly feeling it was much higher than it had been previously.

"Whenever you're ready, my lady!" He gave her a huge thumbs up. He nestled himself down on the mattress. This would be GREAT!

She stared, looked down, stared for a second more. Maybe she could trick herself into thinking that hurtling down to the ground (in any fashion) would be a good idea if she could present a convincing enough argument that this would, in some way, raise her resistance to new experiences. Yes. That was good. Let's go with that.

So, somehow, she suddenly found herself sitting down with Tamaki, hanging onto his legs for dear life. "Let's get this over with!"

Tamaki shifted his weight, the mattress tilting forward. It seemed stopped in place for only a split second, before finally flying forward and downward with all the forces of gravity. Tamaki let out a cheerful squeal.

She didn't remembered much except the fist-fulls of Tamaki's pajama pants she'd been clinging to until it was over, and she could open her eyes again. Shakily, she smiled and stood. "Who's next?"

"Ah, wasn't that amazing!" Tamaki said as he sprung to his feet. Like nothing had even happened.

"I wanna turn!" Huni proclaimed, taking Takashi's hand and hurrying over to pull the mattress back upstairs.

The merry making continued with quite a few more trips down the slide for Haruhi than she would have liked. Finally, when everyone was tiring of it, it was time to move onto the next item of business.

Tamaki had given the chefs the night off. After a trip tot he store, they had everything they needed. He commandeered the kitchen, switching on the gas burner. "And after you toast the marshmallow..." He slathered the gooey confection onto a sweet cracker, and topped it with chocolate. "Voila!~ Doesn't it look amazing?"

Hikaru swiped it, licking the goo off of the side before taking a large bite off of the side. "Wow, Boss. That's really good, what for you making it." He held it out for Kaoru, "Here, have some!"

Haruhi squinted a bit at the... food? She didn't quite know what... it was supposed to be. "So what's that thing called, Tamaki-Senpai?" Alright, even if she didn't care for sweets a whole lot, that looked pretty good.

"It's called a s'more,'" He said, as if explaining to a foreigner or little child. He looked to the twins. "And making your own is supposed to be the fun part!"

"Yeah, whatever, boss!" Kaoru took a bite of the offered treat. Not bad.

Mori was already making some for his bouncing cousin.

Haruhi shrugged and went to get a marshmallow. "How do you toast it? It'll burn your fingers if you get to close!" She frowned. It was like a puzzle. Although, these rich kids normally were.

Hikaru was licking his fingers, turning around to instruct, "Get a stick, Haruhi! You need something you can poke through it with!"

"Shima bought special roasted sticks for me at the store!" He produced a colorfully decorated package of ordinary wooden sticks. "There's one for everybody!"

Hikaru picked up three, tossing one to Kaoru and twirled Haruhi's over to her. "Cool. Not bad, Boss. you actually came up with some fun stuff, eh?"

Haruhi set to work making this thing, kind of enjoying the banter in the dimmed kitchen with her friends in that pajamas. It felt kind of... adventurous. (Even though it wasn't) She snorted in spite of herself at the jab.

"Haha, of course! Have you no faith in my abilities?" He grinned, and set about toasting up a marshmallow for himself. Well, if the twins were enjoying themselves, certainly Haruhi was, as well. Good times!

The whole thing turned out to be a gooey, sticky, chocolatey, mess that even Haruhi was laughing about when they decided that they should cut Huni off. (After 19? Come on!) They'd left the kitchen, unstickied, and Haruhi cleared her throat deliberately. "So, Tamaki-Senpai, what's next?" She was kind of getting tired... maybe he would say sleep!

"Oh, this is the best part!" He motioned for everyone to crawl under one of the very well constructed blanket forts. "Now we get to tell scary stories!"

Haruhi looked around at the others, wondering what they would consider 'scary.' She definitely knew how to scare herself, but these were normal (filthy rich) teenagers. She kept quiet to let the others start.

Hikaru guaffed. "Boss, that's lame! We should start with Truth or Dare!"

Tamaki frowned. The very nature of that game seemed flawed and skewed to make everybody miserable. But, it was one of the traditions, so he supposed they had no choice. "Very well. You start!"

Hikaru stroked his chin, faking thoughtfulness. "Well, how about_ you_, Boss? Truth or Dare?"

"Eh? Me?" He looked thoughtful. "I've nothing to hide. I SAY TRUTH!" He pointed a finger for dramatic emphasis

Hikaru waggled his finger for Kaoru to come closer, whispering something in his ear. When they were agreed, Hikaru pulled out a flashlight and pointed in at the blonde, calling, "Tamaki Suoh, do you like Haruhi?"

He made a very loud, exaggerated noise of befuddlement. "Wh-What! What sort of question is that!" He twiddled his thumbs nervously, casting Haruhi aside glances. Oh, ohm, right! "What sort of father wouldn't like his little girl!" He gave her a side-hug.

Haruhi was curious, but not overly so. She yawned. She kind of hoped that this wouldn't just turn into a 'who likes who' game. "Okay, Tamaki-Senpai, I think it's your turn," she said, before Hikaru could follow up with anything.

"Oh, right. Ah..." Hm. He was pretty bad at this game already. "Haruhi!"

Her? Really? Ugh. "Dare." She didn't care, just let her get this over with and maybe they'd leave her alone.

Oh. He wasn't expecting that. Now he had nothing ready. "I, uh... I dare you to... Hold your breath for five- No! Ten seconds!"

Hikaru rolled his eyes, leaning on Kaoru's shoulder. "Boss, that's sissy stuff. You gotta give her something harder!"

Haruhi had already started, and let out the breath a moment later. "Ah, but I'm already done, and now it's my turn." She looked around the group. "Uhm... Kaoru."

Kaoru gave her a classic, toothy smile. "Dare."

She smirked back at him, deciding she didn't like that grin. "Confess your undying love to Tamaki-Senpai."

Kaoru wrinkled his nose. "What, the boss?" He looked to Tamaki. "Ew."

Tamaki let out an indignant gasp. "Excuse me?"

Of course, Kaoru was never one to lose a game. "Uhg, fine." He sucked it up, putting on his best 'shy uke' face. "My lord... All this time I... I haven't had the strength to say it... But I'm ready now."

Tamaki looked vaguely uncomfortable.

"I didn't wanna say this in front of Hikaru, but... I can't help it anymore... Boss, I LOVE YOU!"

Hikaru and Haruhi both burst out laughing. Haruhi finally choked out, "Ahhh, you fell for it! I got you, Kaoru!"

Kaoru blushed. "What? It was a dare!"

Tamaki wasn't sure whether this was hilarious or just painfully awkward. But, either way, it was nice to see Haruhi laugh.

She tried to get enough air to talk again. "I said to confess your love _to_ Tamaki, not _for_ Tamaki!" Maybe it was all the critical thinking scenarios she'd done earlier, but this was _hilarious_ to her. "You could have-" She paused to take a breath, "confessed your love for anything to him!"

Hikaru raised his eyebrows. "Well played, Haruhi." He poked his brother in the ribs with his elbow, whispering loudly, "That's lawyer humor, right there."

Though his face was still flushed, he had to admit, that was pretty funny. A little smile crept across his face. "Yeah, okay. You got me." He let out a chuckle.

She settled back on her pillow, still laughing a bit from her joke. (She was a joke-telling genius, wasn't she?) Okay, now the rest of them could play and she could quietly go to sleep without anyone noticing.

The very spirited match went on, occasionally devolving into a fit of one-up-manship between Tamaki and the twins, occasionally just silly little requests from Huni, but all in all they seemed to be having something like a good time. It was almost an hour before they realized that the princess was asleep.

Hikaru crawled over to her, peering at her peaceful expression. "Boss, should we let her sleep like that? It doesn't even look comfortable."

Mori covered her with some blankets, a firm hand on the sleeping lump as if to ward off unwanted intrusions. "Asleep."

Tamaki lowered his voice to a loud whisper. "Well, we can't simply _move_ her! She must be handled like the delicate flower that she is!"

Hikaru put a finger out to poke her, and was blocked by the Senior's steady hand. Shrugging, he said, "Alright. Does that mean we should go to sleep, too?"

"It is our duty to awaken tomorrow and entertain Haruhi!" He was still fairly loudly whispered. He pulled a blanket over himself with a flourish.

Hikaru rolled his eyes at his brother. "Whatever. Good night, everyone. Wussies."

The club said their good nights, a polite maid turning off the lights for them. It was a lovely night.

Haruhi woke with a start, wondering why Senpai's bed was so har-

She blinked.

Oh. Right. The slumber party. She yawned and struggled to sit up, feeling the chill as her blanket gaped. Looking around, she was the only one awake so far, (probably as she was used to keeping strange hours), and her mind began whirring as soon as she remembered Senpai would probably be home tonight. The papers! She began to hastily pull herself out of the covers, taking the top one with her and hurried back to the library. She had to get those done!

All of the rustling must have woken Tamaki up. He stirred blearily. Oh, Haruhi was awake. What sort of terrible host can't even be bothered to awaken before his guest! He sat up, quietly climbing out of the fort.

She looked over the papers hurriedly, wondering how on_ earth_ she was supposed to get these all done. She began sorting them into 'to-do' and 'done' piles so she could curl up and bang them all out.

Tamaki peeked into the study. Ah, busy again. He couldn't help but feel a little guilty for that. "Haruhi? Are you gonna be able to finish those in time?"

She glanced fleetingly over her shoulder. "Yes." She had to. "Of course."

"Oh. Okay." He lingered awkwardly in the door way a moment. Wait! The twins would be waking up soon! They're so noisy they could awake a deaf sloth!

He immediately went about installing caution tape, portioning off a large section of the hallways and dubbing it 'the quiet zone.'

Hikaru rubbed at his eyes, the first thing in his direct sight the Boss with a long stretch of police tape. "Boss, what are you doing?" He immediately went over to duck under the tape and see what was going on.

"HUSH!" He put a finger to his lips with a very exaggerated gesture. "Haruhi is very busy, and we must not hinder her progress!" He began pushing him away, trying to force his head back under the meticulously placed tape.

"No! I wanna see Haruhi!" He struggled against the hand violently. "It's my fundamental right to see her!"

A voice from behind the door called, "Not in Tamaki-Senpai's house. Shut up!"

"YOU SEE!" He pushed ever more. "Now you're really upsetting her! If she has such a bad experience, she may never want to have another slumber party with us again!"

"She wants you to shut up, she didn't say she didn't want to see me!" Hikaru swung his arms to slap at him.

"Well she may as well have!" Tamaki replied, retaliating with a few sissy slaps of his own.

Kaoru slipped passed the two of them, poking his head into the library. "Good morning, Haruhi!"

She scowled. "Morning. Can you tell those two that it doesn't matter _what_ they do, just to do it away from me?" She knew she was beginning to get angry, (a healthy emotion, no?), and almost felt proud. Senpai would be proud when he found out, right? After all, she hadn't scolded anyone... ever. "And quietly. Tell them to do it quietly."

Kaoru let out a good natured chuckle. "Yeah, sure. I'll see you later, Haruhi." He pulled out of the study, before laying a hand on each man's shoulder. "Boss, when's breakfast?"

Even with the excited ignoring of Tamaki's rules, (himself included), Haruhi managed to get quite a lot done. She was on the last scenario when her phone began ringing. She picked it up, noting the time which was getting well into the afternoon, answering, "Yes?"

"Haruhi, I expect that your work is done by now."

Her heart dropped a little. Ootori-San. "Hello, Ootori-San. I was actually finishing it up right now. Are you ready for me to bring it back, then?"

"Yes. Be here no later than six o'clock."

Six. Would Senpai be home by then? "Of course. And we'll discuss it?"

She could tell that took him (ever so slightly) off guard. "If needed." The phone clicked, and the line went dead. She sighed, closing the device and went to find Tamaki.

Tamaki was currently locked in a very violent pillow fight, although all thoughts of winning seemed to exit his mind when he realized Haruhi was there (waiting for him?) "Oh, Haruhi!" He was bashed quite harshly in the face by a rather overzealous Huni. He pulled himself out of the fray. "Have you finished your homework?"

She smiled, looking curiously to the strange fight. Okay. "Umm, almost. I just wanted to see if you'd heard from Senpai today?"

"Eh?" He checked his phone. Kyouya never really called him unless official club business was involved. "Maybe I should send him a friendly text!" He stroked a few keys.

She waved her hands, "No, no! That's okay! I was wondering if you would be able to take me ho- take me back to Senpai's house? I need to be there by 6."

He looked to his watch. "Oh, of course, Haruhi! Is Kyouya coming home?" He looked somewhat excited. "Maybe we should all go, so we can greet him!" He cheered.

She tried to catch his flailing arm. "Uh, I don't know, actually. I just have... a meeting with his father I can't miss." She definitely_ hoped_ he would be, but the way Ootori-San worked, she wasn't altogether sure.

This seemed to catch Kaoru's attention. A meeting with Senpai's father? Just what as that all about? Whatever's going on between those two, his father must know about it. Weird...

"Oh, of course!" Sometimes Tamaki forgot Kyouya's whole family was stuffy and hard working like him. "In that case, we can not be late! Come, Haruhi! There's no time to lose!"

She paused, wondering what she should wear. (A worry she'd never had previously) Would the outfit she'd had on yesterday be appropriate again today? He'd definitely notice a mistake like that. Although, she really didn't have anything else so... "Hang on. I have to change first," she said, going to find the clothing, hoping it wasn't too wrinkled.

"Oh, of course." That was silly. She couldn't very well go meet with Ootori-San in her pajamas. HE stood patiently waiting in the foyer.

"What do you think that's about?" Kaoru asked no one in particular.

Hikaru twirled his fingers on Kaoru's hand absently. "Yeah, I've never even met Kyouya-Senpai's Dad, and I've known him a lot longer than Haruhi has."

Tamaki thought over that one. He'd never meat Kyouya's father either, come to think about it, only heard about him. He didn't seem like a very friendly person.

What if... What if he wanted to make Haruhih is daughter-in-law! He wasn't sure how he felt about this... Maybe she would tell him about it in the car?

She changed quickly, lamenting how wrinkled they had gotten overnight. She collected her impromptu homework and smoothed her hair, taking a deep breath, before reappearing to her entourage. "Ready."

"Ah, wonderful!" He couldn't help but notice that she was wearing the same clothes as she had yesterday. Oh, poor thing. She was too common to buy more fancy clothes for herself. He resolved to take her on a special daddy-daughter shopping trip in the very near future. For now, though, he felt saying anything would be terribly embarrassing. "Let's go then!"

It was a bit odd to have so many people in the car. She sat delicately on the seat, trying to let everyone have enough space, (even though there was way more than needed, really), and finished her scenario quickly. She fidgeted, wondering if Senpai had texted Tamaki-Senpai back or not, but too shy to ask. Instead, she sat quietly, wishing they would stop looking at her so funny.

Hikaru spoke up. "So, Haruhi, you're gonna have a meeting with Kyouya-Senpai's Dad, huh?"

Tamaki grimaced. If their relationship was so complicated, would she really want to talk about it with all these people around?

"Yeah, that's really weird." Kaoru continued. "We've never even met the guy."

She folded her hands and put up her chin, trying to look as confident as possible. (Without overcompensating, of course) "Yeah. I do." And she really, _really_ needed to ask. "Tamaki-Senpai, did you hear from him?"

Tamaki checked his phone. "Ah! You'll be happy to know that he's on his way as we speak." He replied.

She didn't sigh in relief, but it felt like ten thousand elephants had just stopped dancing on her nerves. "Alright."

Hikaru raised a brow, scooting closer to her. "So you didn't even know if Kyouya-Senpai would be home?" What on earth did that mean? She was expecting to have a _private meeting_ with the guy?

This situation just felt more and more disturbing the more Kaoru heard about it. Just what was going on here!

"Do give him our greetings!" Tamaki continued. I told him all about our slumber party! I think he was a bit jealous. We'll have to do something fun with him to make up for it!"

She appreciated his effort; she really did. "Yeah, that would nice, Tamaki-Senpai." She gave a look to each of the twins, clearly reading, 'drop it.' It was a short ride, anyway, if she'd tried to explain any part of this weird life she found herself in, they would be sitting in the driveway for a while.

The car pulled up to the mansion.

"Ah. Here we are." Tamaki was almost reluctant to let her go. Kyouya's father sounded like a scary man. But, of course, that only meant that it would be even less advisable to make her stay. Sigh, decisions decisions. "Well. Thank you for joining us, Haruhi." He sounded quite sincere. "I'll see you at school tomorrow?"

"Thanks for having me. I enjoyed myself." She dodged the question tactlessly and climbed out of the car. "See you all later!"

Hikaru looked around the car. "That... was weird."

Tamaki paused a minute to make sure she got into the house alright. Suddenly, he pumped his fist in the air. "Haruhi had a good time! Good job, men!"

Haruhi checked her phone, glad that she was a bit early. Unsure of what to do, she finally decided to try to find something else out of Fuyumi's room to wear. Although, it was easy to get lost in the big house. She kind of missed the intimacy Tamaki's house had offered, but shook it off, determined to locate what she needed.

It was certainly nice to finally be home. IT had been something of a draining weekend, to be honest. Kyouya climbed out of the car, sending Tamaki a quick text to let him know that he was home. He knew he would worry if he didn't.

He stepped into the house, wondering when Haruhi would be home.

Okay, she was significantly lost. She'd gotten turned around somewhere in the labyrinth of rooms, and was mostly hoping to find _anyone_ that could set her straight. She checked her phone. Ten minutes.

On pure happenstance, he happened to find her on his way to his room. A rare, genuine smile spread across his face, if only for a moment. "How long have you been here?"

It took a second for it to sink in that _yes_, that was her Senpai. She lit up, unashamed of her excitement, happily calling, "Senpai!" She was about to run to hug him, when she remembered what Ootori-San had said. "Are we allowed to talk yet, Senpai?"

"He stipulated that we were not to speak while I was away on business." He replied. "We are allowed to speak." He held out his hands, ready to take her into the hug that she so obviously wanted. That he didn't want. Not even a little.

She sighed, extremely relieved. It was almost painfully wonderful to tumble into his embrace, wrapping her arms around him tightly. Something she would have never expected to enjoy so thoroughly. "I missed you," She said into his suit jacket, the words coming out muffled through the material.

He wrapped his arms around the small of her back, taking a simple pleasure in just holding her close. It felt like it had been so much longer than just the weekend. Which only proved how much he'd come to depend on seeing her every day. "I missed you too, Haruhi." He replied, trained to keep all the complicated emotions out of his voice

She pulled out, still very much worried about her time constraints. "Senpai, your father wants to see me at six, and I think I'm lost. I was going to change, but then I couldn't find your sister's room, and now I won't be able to make it back in time and..." She stopped herself. Wow. Was she always so emotionally clingy when he was around? "I just need to get back to his office, if you wouldn't mind."

"Of course not." She let go of her. It wouldn't due for them to get all clingy right away. "This way, if you would."

She followed him, quietly taking in everything about him. My goodness, she'd really missed him, hadn't she? She found herself glad to see everything from his soft-looking hair to his firm way of walking unchanged, (though why would it be in such a short time?)

She shyly slid her hand into his, smiling up at him. "How did your business arrangements go?"

"Very well, thank you." He replied, secretly very pleased to be holding her hand again. He had a good feeling about where things were going. If father had really disliked her, she would not have been allowed back into the house. "Were you treated well this weekend?"

Sometimes it was still hard to believe how much he seemed to care for her well-being. She squeezed his hand lightly, "Yes. Tamaki-Senpai and I had a slumber party for the club; we all missed you."

"Ah, so I heard." He still wasn't sure he was okay with that. Although, he supposed if all of them were present, the chances of things getting out of hand was severely lowered. Not that he didn't trust the club. Well, some of them anyways.

"Senpai, after we're done with this, we need to remember to have some phone conversation practice." She said, changing the subject to something less... weird. She could honestly say that she'd never had a sleep over with anyone but one of her masters, and even if she had, she would have _never_ just causally mentioned it. Plus Senpai seemed a tad tense about it. Their future was a good subject, especially now as she felt almost as if she were going on her death march.

He did appreciate that she was taking initiative on these things. "An excellent idea." He replied. "Perhaps after our next dance lesson." He came to a stop in front of his father's door. He wanted to say something encouraging, but only hollow words came to mind. "Good luck." He settled with.

She pushed open the door.

Over confident. She should have knocked first, but she was here now so Yoshio acknowledged her and motioned to sit. "You brought the papers back completed?"

"I did." She replied. She crossed the room to offer them to the man.

He took them, flipping through them silently. Although he didn't let it show, he was quite impressed that she'd finished them at all. "What did you think of it?" He asked vaguely, knowing she would translate the question in her own mind to detail the most interesting part of the information she gathered.

"I think if you were so curious as to my character, you could have interviewed me personally." She replied. "People's immediate reactions can be more telling than what they put on paper." Where, she was getting ahead of herself. "Sir." Much better.

Ah, very good. She was bright, although he imagined her previous endeavors had worn away at that a bit. He cleared his throat, leaning forward to fold his hands on the desk. "The test you just took was a sample entrance practice exam from one of the most well-known law schools in America. From what I can see, you would be accepted without hesitation."

She was, admittedly, caught a little off guard. Really? She was that good? The thought kind of brought a smile to her face. "I take it that isn't all this meeting is about."

He grinned a bit, although he wasn't prone to such a thing and it came out looking a bit... dark. "Haruhi, my research has shown that before you came to my son, you were something of a prostitute."

Her smile was gone. She replaced it with a very well practice mask of no emotion. "I was a slave, yes." She replied.

"One Kuretate Arai is very avid that you agreed to every moment with him, which would imply you were being paid hourly, or nightly. Was that not the case?" How would she go about this? He was very curious, his businessman persona fully in place.

She kept her face blank. "That was not the case. While I did spend every available moment with him, that is only because I was his property."

He sat back. "If you were in a court of law, young lady, it would be his word against yours. What argument would you give to prove your innocence? Unlicensed prostitution is illegal." Slavery was also, but that wasn't the point. She would be breaking the law either way, but in the latter circumstance it wouldn't be her fault. He laced his fingers together.

She paused, only a moment. It had been so long since she'd heard her mother say all these things... "Self defense." She replied. "Arai would have killed me, and possible my father, if I didn't comply with his demands."

He stroked his chin. "I see. You seem to be recovering well. You didn't refer to him with any honorific." The question was, was that healing, or becoming rude? Although the real reason he brought it up was to hear her response.

"He is no longer my master." She replied. She really didn't want to talk about this right now. Not ever. Thinking of those old days made her stomach twist and her head go light. But she could do this.

"So why don't you use a more proper honorific for your master now? It only makes sense to pass the title along, no?" She was getting tense. Obviously the wound was still fresh, perhaps not into the healing process as he'd thought.

"I refer to him as he has asked me too." She replied. "If I were to refer to him so submissively in public, people might talk. We agreed that that would be an inconvenience."

He raised an eyebrow, just slightly. "And why did he decide to hide your identity?" Just this last question; he had better things to do with his time.

"Perhaps he was worried about the effect it might have on the family name." She replied. She did her best to fend off a sick, wry smile. What was there to be ashamed of? She was hardly a slave at this point.

Interesting. Kyouya certainly knew that the Ootoris weren't above bending the laws at times, and had indulged in the slave market a few instances in the past. They'd never sent one to school, though.

"Haruhi, let me be frank with you." He adjusted his glasses, leaning forward again. "I have come to the conclusion that you would do best continuing your schooling to in the study of law, and my suggestion is for you to study at Yale University in America to do so. Obviously, I would take care of your funding, and would even go so far as to eliminate your debt with my son. I would, however, submit that you and he communicate as infrequently as possible while you are there."

The dizziness was gone. It was replaced now with fear. America? How would she possibly survive in America, without Senpai? And, perhaps a bit of anger. Who was he to send her away? He didn't buy her. He didn't save her. He didn't sit up with her until she fell asleep every night.

"With all due respect, sir, I will pay off my debt through my own means." She was trembling. But she didn't care. "And I will continue my education at Ouran." And she would sure as heck continue frequent communication with Senpai.

He waved it off, as if she hadn't said anything. "Of course, I don't expect you to answer now. Please think about it over night and give your answer tomorrow." He looked at her over his glasses, elementary-school-teacher style. "And I want you do think about it, Haruhi. Don't just make up your mind on a whim; you may never get this opportunity again."

"I will, sir." She replied. She stood. "Will that be all for tonight, sir?"

He contemplated her for a brief moment. "Yes, go. Send Kyouya in."

"Good night, sir." She left. She finally let go of a deep breath she'd been holding. Why was she still shaking?

Soon after, Kyouya appeared in the room. "Good evening."

He barely even let the boy sit before he said, "Kyouya, that girl has unusual talent. You knew that, didn't you?"

"She has made it quite clear to me in the past." He replied. 'Unusual.' That could go either way. But 'talent,' well that was certainly a point in her favor.

He folded his hands. "You know that I despise underused resources. Because of that, I have made her an offer to fund her schooling in America."

Ah. Very clever. "And how did she respond to this offer, if I may inquire?"

"I've asked that she think about it overnight. I do not want you to influence her decision any more than necessary, is that clear?" He knew they both were aware of the game they were playing.

"I wouldn't dream of it." He replied. "I want her to make the right decision as much as you do, father." Though, they may have differing opinions on what decision was the 'correct' one.

He watched his son with a critical eye. "Kyouya, I have one other question that you are in no means obligated to go into detail on." The more detail, the better his understanding of this whole situation would be, though.

"Please, don't hesitate." Kyouya replied.

"You purchased this girl, whom is trained in pleasure, then decided to avoid indulgence. If you'd planned on using her for what she was meant for with sold to you, that would be logical. And if you were simply doing a good deed by taking her debt and letting her go free, that would also be logical, although in a very self-righteous, and uninteresting, way. I'd like your explanation as to why you've done what you have. Your course of action is completely illogical, and strays off from the way you normally go about decisions."

He made a good point. What _was_ his logic? Heh. Then again, maybe there was no logic at all. Maybe that idiot's charity was rubbing off on him... Not that he had any hopes of explaining that to his father. "One must consider every possibility. Call it a hunch, if you'd like, but I felt leaving the girl as she was would be a wasted opportunity."

Hm. Plain. "You may go, Kyouya. Remember what I said."

"Of course, father."

As he left, he couldn't help but feel he'd lost that round. But then... He almost didn't care. Almost.

She was waiting outside the office, sitting on the floor pensively when he emerged. "Senpai, he asked me..." How did she go about saying it, now? This was kind of a big thing.

"I know what he asked." He said softly. "And I want you to think in it tonight."

But, she knew what she wanted to tell him. She stood, feeling a bit shaky still after having given so much of herself to staying strong, and honest, in there. "I can think about it... but I want your opinion, too." She really just wanted to go curl up on the bed next to him, though. "Can we have dinner sent up to your room?" She certainly wouldn't be able to handle a chance Akito encounter tonight, or worse, Ootori-San.

"I was thinking the same thing, myself." He was far to tired to deal with servants and family tonight. Just a few quiet hours with Haruhi sounded lovely.

His opinion. That was a dangerous thing to give. He knew what he wanted. True, it would be better for her right now to stay with him, but what would really be better for her future? He didn't want to think to hard on the answer.

"Let's go."

She smiled softly, the pure simplicity of the moment allowing her to briefly not think about her new worries. All she needed to think about right now was how nice it was to have a room to go back to, and someone as wonderful as Senpai to share it with."Senpai!" She said suddenly, remembering something. "I left my book bag at Tamaki-Senpai's house!" That had her pajamas in it.

Kyouya sighed. He had no intentions of getting caught up in some inane conversation with the King tonight. "So you need it before tomorrow?" He asked. He supposed he could send a butler for it...

She shook her head. "No, I just don't want to ruin these clothes." Although, it had been a while since she'd slept nude, and she didn't think Senpai would react well to that. "Is there something I could borrow for the night?"

"I'm sure I could find something." He replied. Fuyumi's roomed was packed with the stuff, after all. "I suppose we'd better go find something while dinner is prepared."

When she realized where they were going, she was illogically disappointed. What had she expected? Was she hoping for Senpai to lend her his own clothes? All she needed was something so she wasn't naked, it didn't matter who it was from. She flushed a bit, trying to shove away the wry little thought of how intimate it would be to be wearing one of his undershirts and boxers. "Thank you for going out of your way again," She said, trying to shake the thoughts.

Well, she was certainly worth it. "It's no trouble." He replied, opening the door for her. It didn't take long to find something suitably pajama-like. It would probably be a bit big for a flat chest like hers, but she would have to make due.

They headed up to the room, Haruhi hugging the second set of clothes she'd burgled from Fuyumi this weekend. "She won't mind, will she?" She asked, "If she finds out I've been wearing her clothes?"

Oh, the thought of Fuyumi finding out he had a female friend of any sort was a terrifying thought. "She would be thrilled." He replied.

Thrilled? Alright, that was good then. "She must be different from Akito-Kun then, huh?"

"Very much so." Kyouya replied. It was difficult to tell whether that was a good thing or not. He opened the door for her. That was a little out of character for him... Oh no, he was becoming a sap.

She stared at the open door, honestly confused why he'd stopped. "...Did you want to say something, Senpai?"

Er. Now he felt even sillier. "Nothing. Go ahead." He motioned for her to step inside.

What was that about? She entered anyway, immediately going to the bathroom to change. "I'll be right back,"

Only the pajamas were much bigger than they had looked. The shirt buttoned up enough, even though two of her could have fit inside it, but the pants kept slipping down. (She'd gained weight, but not this much yet!) "Uhh, Senpai?" She asked holding a handful of the waistband and shuffling out of the bathroom.

Ah. He'd forgotten that Fuyumi favored looser sorts of sleepwear. "No, that won't do, will it?" He stood. "I suppose I might have something." He shuffled through his drawers for something suitable for a lady to wear.

She felt her heart drop in surprise, (or was that her pants?). Pulling them back up quickly, she tried to get out some kind of formality, _No, that's alright,_ or _Oh, I can make do, _but she could only watch. (What_ was_ it about him that made her act like such an idiot?)

He found a suitable shirt. It might still be a bit big on her, but at least she wouldn't be swimming anymore. He wasn't sure how well he pants would fit her, though. But the only other option was the movie stereotype of dysfunctional couples who can't be bothered to be properly dressed in the morning. Boxers. Not happening, nope.  
>She accepted them gratefully, filing away her embarrassing thoughts under <em>day of stress<em>, and changed quickly. Reemerging was much more comfortable, not feeling as if she would get eaten by her clothing. "Thanks, Senpai," she said. "This is much better."

"Good." He replied. He had to admit, there was something pleasant about seeing her in his clothes. If only in a hormonal teenager sort of way. Sometimes, it was okay to feel this way, so long as no one knew about it.

Dinner was soon served.

She was hungry again. It was odd, knowing how little she usually needed, compared to how she'd been eating lately. She was going soft, that's what it was. "Senpai," she said between bites. "You know you spoil me. I barely need one meal a day." She looked up at him, her cheeks full of food.

"Not if you are to function at top capacity." He replied. He certainly hoped she didn't make a habit of talking with her mouth full. "It's simple biology."

She thought about that, swallowing. "I guess that makes sense. But isn't it best for-"

Wait. Was she still considered a slave, really? So what would it matter?

He knew what she was going to say, and let the sentence die. "Have you finished all of your homework over the weekend?"

"Yes. All of it." She'd put down her plate; slightly embarrassed with herself.

"Excellent." He replied. He looked to the book waiting patiently on the nightstand. "Perhaps we should read some more tonight." Anything to avoid talking about his father's ultimatum.

Her cheeks burned irrationally; Everything this person did made her want to either cry or kiss his feet. "Yeah, that sounds good." She said, setting her plate aside and resisting the urge to curl up on his side to hear his voice rumble. Why was everything about Senpai tonight? She coughed, tasting a bit of bile in her mouth. And why did she feel as if she were about to throw up?

He glanced at her. "Feeling alright?" He asked.

All of a sudden, she wasn't. Shaking her head, she ran to the bathroom, retching into the toilet. Attractive.

He stood outside the bathroom, just a touch of nervousness hitting her. He was gone for two days, and she already managed to pick up some sort of flu or- something. He waited patiently for her to finish.

Shuddering, she wiped her mouth on toilet paper and flushed the whole mess. She stood shakily, trying _not_ to completely stumble out of the bathroom. Maybe she should have sat for a minute longer.

He caught her on her way out. She didn't look very stable. He put a hand on her forehead. "Come on, let's get you to bed."

"Senpai," she moaned weakly, "I wanted to read. Wouldn't you be upset if we don't get to read?" She leaned on him heavily though, past her best intentions.

"Another time, perhaps." He soothed. Perhaps the stress from the weekend was catching up to her. Or she'd caught something at Tamaki's. His medical mind could think of other explanations, but... He wasn't going to think of that. "You need to rest for now."

She nodded, trying not to begin heaving again. She let him help her onto the bed, not even questioning _where_ she was going to sleep, and lay down sleepily. "I'm sorry to cause another problem, Senpai." Her eyelids were becoming extremely heavy.

"Don't be." He whispered. He brushed her bangs out of her face, his voice dropping ot an even quieter level. "You're worth it."

She leaned sleepily into the caress. "Nobody's-" She yawned, looking for all the world like a sleeping kitten, "ever said that before. To me." She nuzzled his hand a little, fearing it's departure.

He left his hand there, for her sake. He didn't reply, choosing instead to let her drift away, forgetting all this nonsense.

She was asleep within moments, falling into slumber as if she didn't have a care in the world.

Kyouya stayed still, sitting beside her for just a moment. She didn't feel terribly feverish, but then the flu didn't always represent itself with fever.

No, no, he would see how she was feeling tomorrow before jumping to ridiculous conclusions. He lowered himself to the bed, just happy to be home for a while. He soon drifted off as well.

She woke up before him, more prone to react to the alarms than he was, and stretched lazily, hitting the clock as she did. She sat up slowly, a wave of morning-dizziness hitting her. The bathroom. That's what she needed.

She slowly made her way across the room, wondering why her lower back was cramping so much. (How had she slept on it, anyway?) Actually, she was still feeling slightly nauseous. Maybe she was coming down with something.

His eyes soon slowly opened, as well. He was just a little distressed not to find Haruhi at his side. NO, no, she wasn't feeling well last night. He sat up, finding his glasses. She must be feeling better by now, right?

If it was food poisoning, that wouldn't make her throw up twice, would it? She scoffed at herself from the bathroom floor. Obviously not. When she'd cleaned up enough, she shuffled to the door to wake Senpai up.

Kyouya was already out, stretching a bit of post-business trip aches from his shoulders. He stopped when he become aware of her. "Are you well enough for school?"

She nodded, swallowing. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I probably just ate something." Right? That makes sense? She hadn't made it that far in the Pre-Med book yet.

"Not likely." He replied. "If it were food poisoning, you would have been over it by last night. Any soreness?" He came to check for fever once more.

She began to shake her head, then sighed. "Well, yeah." She put a hand to the small of her back. "Here."

Her case wasn't looking for reassuring. Still, stomach flu wasn't completely inconceivable just yet. "Have you felt like this for long?"

She thought for a minute, unsure. "I... don't know. It's hard to discern between illness and injury."

Ah. That made things somewhat difficult. "I see." He replied. "Perhaps it would be advisable for you to stay home for the day."

She glowered. "I've already missed a day. I really think I'll be fine if I go, Senpai." Even if she felt as if she might have to vomit again if she didn't lie down. "Please."

"I don't-" No. If she was going to be off living in America, she needed to learn to make some decisions of her own. If. And that's a big, painful 'if.' "Very well. However, I would like you to see the nurse during lunch period and lie down for a time."

She nodded, still a bit woozy, but now positive that she didn't want Senpai to find out. If nothing else was normal today, she kind of wanted school to be at least. "Alright. I will." She sat down on the couch for a moment to make the spinning subside. "Uh, where are you going to eat?" It was slightly impertinent, but she was beginning to learn how much she didn't care about that anymore.

"I'll bring something for you." He replied. He made his way to the bathroom to change into his uniform.

She sighed. She found her uniform quickly, undressing while Senpai was in the bathroom. _Hm_, she mused, looking over her midriff and legs,_ the bruises are fading. _Some of the cuts were still visible, but only the ones that had been really bad, and the burn marks were almost imperceptible. _I almost look normal. _It was a pretty happy realization, to be honest.

He felt nervous. Why was that? Was it the looming threat of her leaving? Or maybe some territorial instinct was bristling at the possibility that she might just be carrying that sick man's- No, he couldn't think about it. She would be fine.

She shrugged her shirt on after thoroughly going over herself, happy that even her more...intimate injuries were healing nicely. As she buttoned it up, she began mulling Ootori-San's proposition again. Even though she knew what she _wanted_ to do, was it what she _should_ do? America was a long way away, and Senpai wouldn't be able to just pack up and leave, only to be with her at school. His work and school were both here, and America held nothing of value to him at the moment. The important factor was going to end up being what he wanted her to do, she knew that for sure, but would he defer to her judgment? Or worse, would he _want_ her to go? It would certainly free up quite a bit of his time.

He soon stepped out of the bathroom, fully dressed. She really was looking much better lately, he couldn't help but notice. She certainly didn't look sick...

"Ready?"

She buttoned the last button on her jacket. "Yeah." She grabbed her backpack, catching up to him as they left the room. "Senpai, you haven't told me what you think of your father's proposal to me."

Again the glare on his glasses covered whatever emotion he might have completely. "My father gave the choice to you. It's out of my hands."

She rolled her eyes, having expected that, to an extent. She slipped her hand into his. "No," Her voice was quieter this time. "I meant, what do you think? As my...friend?" What title was he to her, again?

'Friend.' Wow, after sharing a bed, the nude massage, and the sloppy kisses, he was almost expecting a bit... More.

No, he'd been too slack with himself as of late. She was off limits, that was final. No more of this tomfoolery. They were 'friends' now. He could live with that. He would have to.

"I think... That you should not take the decision lightly."

His voice was unsettled, as was his demeanor. "Senpai, I don't want to." She felt her face get a bit hot in an attempt to bite back tears. (Wait, why was she almost crying?) "I don't want to leave..my life now." She'd bit her words before she could say how much she'd hate to leave him. Just him. The other stuff didn't matter. "I want to go to law school, but I haven't even finished most of high school." She knew her hand had tightened slightly on his.

He knew how hard this was on her. How cruel he must have seemed for denying her the easy route. But he also knew that he could not trust himself to be unbiased. "And what about your future, Haruhi?"

"It's something I've only begun to consider. Senpai, up until recently I didn't even know if-" She stopped herself. No need to talk about that. She was already dizzy (still) anyway, "Well, I don't know. I... I want to research, figure it out on my own. But having this opportunity is incredible, and obviously something I _never _expected. How am I supposed to decide in one day?"

Kyouya sighed. "I don't know." He so loathed those words. But what else could he tell her? To keep it up, it's okay, you can do it kiddo? There were no simple answers here, whether he gave them or not.

She tugged on his hand to stop, looking up at him in the eye. "Senpai, you still own me. If you want me to stay, your father will have to understand. I refuse to make this decision against your will." It would be so much easier this way, so simple. He was her master and he said no. Straightforward.

"He has agreed to pay off your debt, should you accept." He reminded her. "Furthermore, he has forbidden me from making such a decision."

She shook her head. "You're my master now. I want your opinion; you don't have to give me an order." Her opposite hand was twitching nervously. "Even if I did agree this afternoon, and he paid my debt tonight, I'm still yours today, let me remind you, and you have final authority. Even if you choose not to use it."

"Then I shall choose not to use it." He slid into the car with an air of finality. This woman. Why couldn't she understand the temptation she was putting him through? He was willing to possibly destroy her future to keep her here with him. That was why they could only be friends. Doing that to someone... That isn't love.

She felt like throwing a hissy fit, even stalking off to walk to school by herself, but, as she herself had just pointed out, this man owned her still. So she slid into the car quietly, solemnly, and looked out the window without expression. It was immature, of course, but he'd refused to give his aid, so she wouldn't ask.

Was she mad at him? She'd never been mad at him. Frustrated, afraid, hurt, sure. But _angry?_ He wasn't sure he liked this feeling. However, as he was so wont to do, he ignored the feelings. This decision must be one based on rational thought, and he was not helping in that respect.

She occupied herself throughout the trip with the window and her phone, mostly playing around with the latter to indicate how many unanswered texts she had. (Although she actually only had two; one from Tamaki and one from Kaoru) She vaguely wondered if Senpai ever got so mad he would beat her. It wasn't as if she expected him to, given what she knew of him, but the marks on her body were unpleasant reminders that everyone got angry at her at some point or another. Only one of the tears actually fell, out-rightly ignored as it did.

Oh, she was crying. There was nothing he wanted more than to take her into his arms and beg her to stay with him. But, no. He'd been far to lax without himself as of late, and this is where it got him. Take it as a lesson in self discipline. He sat stiffly in his seat, not moving for the whole car trip.

When the car stopped, she got out on her own and left immediately, leaving Senpai with only silence. She was actually feeling nauseous again, and hurried to the nearest bathroom to throw up. As she wiped her mouth, (again), she shuddered and hoped whatever bug this was, she would pass it soon.

He sat a moment, replaying the scene in his mind. For all the good it did him. There were always a million 'wanted to's,' thousands of 'should haves.' But this wasn't about him anymore. This was for her.

He climbed out of the car, feeling a bit sick himself. He knew that she wasn't catching.

Hikaru elbowed his brother. "Well, look who the cat dragged in." Haruhi looked terrible. "How'd the meeting go, Cinderella?"

"Are you feeling okay?" Kaoru asked. Must have gone pretty bad to leave her so shaken.

She dropped into her seat, clearly not happy. "I'm fine. What parts of the homework are due today?" She'd done all of that, at least."

"Just the first two pages." Hikaru said, then leaned over to her. "Haruhi, you don't look so hot. Maybe you should go see the nurse?"

"Here, I'll take you there." Kaoru offered a hand. Man, she was usually so organized and put together...

Haruhi slapped the hand away. "I'm fine! JEEZ, is everyone trying do do the opposite of what I want today? Leave me alone!" She didn't notice how loud she'd gotten, or how the others in the room were looking at her.

Kaoru withdrew his hand. "Alright! Sorry." Jeez, what was _her_ problem?

Hikaru rolled his eyes. "Aunt Flow must visiting, huh Haruhi?" She was _edgy_!

She narrowed her eyes at him. "What was that, Hikaru?" Lest he forget she was _hiding her gender_! "Do you have something to say to me?"

He put up his hands. "Just forget it. I didn't say anything to you."

Kaoru pretended to recheck his homework, hiding front he conversation. Things must be getting intense back at Kyouya's place. Whatever was going on there. He wondered if maybe Kyouya would have some answers?

"That's what I thought," She said, pulling out her homework. Great, now they'd gone and made her make a scene in front of randoms. Perfect. She leaned against her arm, pretending to be anywhere but here.

Hikaru gave Kaoru a look, mouthing something along the lines of, 'Who spiked her breakfast?' and pulled out his phone. Kyouya-Senpai should know about this. 'Hey Kyouya, what'd you do to Haruhi? Or should I ask what you _didn't_ do, maybe? ;)'

If he only knew how despicable the thought was. He almost shut his phone and left him hanging in defiance. However, he felt that doing so would only further incriminate himself.

'What are you on about?'

'She's pissy this morning. Yelled at me already, and just came in. Everybody was staring.' He snuck a glance over to her; nope, she was still too angry-looking. Send.

'What did you say to her?'

Was she still upset? Well, this little mood would probably persist until club. Maybe he would send her home early, forgo her customer's sakes.

He considered it. He hadn't really said anything. 'Just that she didn't look so good. She was pale and crap. Why? Is that bad?'

'I'm only making sure her reaction was unwarranted.'

Of course he knew this had nothing to do with anybody but himself. He would have to talk to her about misplaced anger one of these days.

'Kaoru offered to take her to the nurse, but she said no. Ya think we should? She really doesn't look too good.' Oh crap, class was about to start.

He pressed a hand to his forehead. Honestly, for once, he just didn't want to deal with this right now. Between worrying over her condition, her future, as well as her anger, it was all just becoming to much for an emotionally repressed teenager like himself.

'Do what you can. I'll check on her after class.'

He rolled his eyes, closing the phone. He wasn't doing anything unless completely necessary. He began folding paper airplanes.

By the end of fourth period, Haruhi had calmed dramatically, even to joke with some of the other students. She pulled her bag up, remembering her promise to go to the Nurse's over lunch.

What if all of this stress made Senpai hate her? What if, instead of trying to protect her, he began to blame her for everything bad in his life, (not entirely untrue), and punish her accordingly? What if he actually could be _worse_ than the others before? She began to cry, hot tears streaking down her face as she entered the office. The nurse was very understanding, making her tea and telling her to relax on the bed she'd used before while she cried it out.

As Kyouya stood in the lunch line, he couldn't help but remember what he'd told Haruhi. He'd promised to bring her lunch. Although, he wasn't entirely sure she wanted to see him right now. He let out a sigh, hoping to alleviate some of the tightness in his chest.

Would her anger influence the situation?

He sucked all that up. She needed to eat, whether she wanted to see him or not. He ordered her something he knew she would like before surreptitiously slipping out of the lunchroom.

She'd gone to the bathroom, feeling the need to wash her face. The little one-person bathroom was stocked with everything, as far as she could tell. She poked around at the shelves of supplies, knowing what most of the things were, but noticing a few foreign ones. Hm, tampons.

Wait, tampons. When was her last period? She counted backwards, trying to remember exactly when it had been, but couldn't quite figure out the day. Her pulse quickened. Could it really have been that long? The bathroom suddenly seemed very cold, as much as she wanted to, she couldn't bring herself to think it. No. It absolutely, positively couldn't be that.

She hated that man.

Kyouya knocked, the nurse cheerfully opened the door. She didn't seem to surprised to see him after last week. She motioned for him to sit for her in the chair by her bed.

Ah. If she was still throwing up, would she even want lunch? Maybe he should just leave it here for her and come back...

No, he knew he couldn't do that.

She heard Senpai's voice, and forced herself into movement. Should she tell him? Wait, the nausea. That, and the pains, that made sense. But... she couldn't be pregnant, could she? The thought of having something left over so important from that man was horrifically disgusting, but she couldn't think about that now. It couldn't be true. "Senpai?" She asked quietly, emerging from the bathroom.

He lifted his gaze to meet hers. "Good afternoon." He said, trying to remain professional. "I take it you're not feeling much better?"

Ah yes, her display earlier. It was despicable. "I'm sorry for earlier, Senpai." Her head hung a bit, the rest of her body on edge and still in the doorway of the bathroom. "I can make up for it."

"I meant your condition." He replied. Although, it was nice to hear that she was over it.

Oh. How to answer that? "Well, I'm not vomiting now, so that has to mean something." She climbed into the bed.

"Sounds like an improvement." He replied. He offered the tray, having already retrieved a stand for it, should she choose to eat it in bed. "I'm told you had a very rough start this morning."

She took the tray, frowning in confusion. How did he know that? Maybe one of the twins ratted her out. At least he didn't know about her sob fest later. (_Oh._ Mood swings.) "I-I'm sorry about that, too." What did he expect her to say to that?

He didn't say much in reply. Honestly, he was afraid to say to much to her today. After the argument in the car, he was beginning to realize that any little word could make or break her decision tonight. He knew he could use this to his advantage, she he choose to. He was beginning to find himself less and less trustworthy.

She picked at the food, wishing to fill the empty space with mindless chatter like the twins did so easily, but she found so hard. She _knew _she'd come a long way, having been deprived that basic right for so long, but language was still hard-earned to her. Finally, she asked, "So, how was your morning?"

Well, aside from having spent the day dreading meeting her, "Things went as they usually do." He replied. "I'm thinking of canceling club for the day."

Her expression fell. "Why?" She'd been kind of looking forward to the girls, and the simplicity of the club.

"If your condition hasn't stabilized by the end of the school day, I can't, in good conscience, allow you to entertain." He replied. Very formal, very official.

There had been so much arguing today, she didn't want to push it. "Yes, Senpai." He was so cold today. She lowered her voice farther, honestly ashamed. "I really am sorry for disappointing you again."

She couldn't remember the last time, but she was sure that a failure like herself had obtained that particular goal a few times by now.

He sighed. She was making things difficult again. "You're not a disappointment, Haruhi." He replied. "I only want what's best for you. I'm letting you decide what that is." He spoke softly, glancing over his shoulder for any nosy nurses.

Her brow drew together as that sunk in. He'd drawn away so she could make the decision? Oh right, she should have known that. Still, it seemed a bit surprising that his formality could have such a rational, and kind, explanation. "Senpai, I think I know what's wrong with me." Wait, should she tell him her hunch now? Maybe she should find some way to test for it, and then tell him? Would he appreciate knowing now more?

"Do you?" He asked. Perhaps she'd talked with the nurse about her condition? "And what is your hypothesis?"

Her mouth was suddenly dry. It wasn't as if this was a tender moment, filled with anticipation and hope for a baby. They weren't a married couple yearning for fulfillment through offspring. It was just her and her Senpai, overloaded with changes, one of them still adjusting to normal things like _eating_. She shook her head, rubbing her forehead nervously. "Lean in. I can't say this out loud."

That was... Disconcerting. He had a hunch... No, he wouldn't accept that just yet. He leaned in, attempting to hide the anxiety he felt creeping into his chest.

She whispered the words, hoping beyond _hope_ that he wouldn't decide that enough was enough, and throw her out of his life. Her mouth twitched, unsure of what emotion she was feeling. All she could do was watch his face, feeling as if every bad thing that she'd been through, combined, couldn't be worse than this moment.

He felt his own mouth going dry. For whatever reason, a shudder attempted to work it's way through his spine. He leaned back, adjusting his glasses and ignoring the ominous feeling over his head. "I see." He said, his even voice threatening to crack at any moment. "What do you intend to do about it?"

She blinked quickly. She was definitely hormonal. "I...don't know. I'm not even positive that I'm right yet." The thought of carrying any part of that man made her want to vomit, but she was already a bit sympathetic for the thing... it didn't mean to grow from filthy sperms, did it? "I just needed to..." Needed to what? Tell him so he wouldn't just notice her belly growing? Ask permission? Ask permission. "Let you know so you could... take proper measure if needed." If needed. What if he didn't think that was necessary? Her mind was spinning with the different possibilities.

"I see." He said. Oddly, he found himself wishing Tamaki was here. He would know just what to say. He would cheer her up, make her feel hopeful, give her just the right advice... But he couldn't rely on Tamaki. It was just him.

"Well. We should confirm this before we make any decisions." He said, swallowing dryly.

She wanted to crawl up on his lap, and just let him hold her for now. Everything was so complicated, and she hated that. She looked at her stomach absently, wondering if it was any bigger than it used to be. But she'd been gaining weight, so she probably wouldn't even be able to tell. "Okay." She frowned into her lap. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have." What? Let herself be taken advantage of back then? Back before she'd known hope, known Kyouya Ootori? But she made his life ultimately a lot worse, didn't she?

"This is no fault of your own, Haruhi." He could say that much, at the very least. "There's no need to worry. Whatever this brings, I'll handle things."

She blinked back tears again. Why was she so stupid? He was so good to her, and she kept asking things of him. She really just wanted to keep apologizing, try to make up for her lack of intellect, but instead just nodded and said, "I'll do whatever you think is best, Mas-Senpai."

"I'm sure you will." He replied. That was just the problem. He had no idea what was best.

"Ootori-San?" The nurse poked her head in. "Class is starting again in five minutes."

"Yes, thank you." He sent her away with a gesture. He turned to Haruhi. "Perhaps you should stay here for now..."

She sat forward, reaching out for a hug. She didn't even care it made her look like she was five. "You'll come back for me after school?" (You won't sell me and send someone else?) She could feel her core shaking at the thought.

"Of course I will." He replied, sounding as soft as he could, despite the hard lump in his stomach.

Her arms sagged back to her sides uncertainly, disappointed he hadn't hugged her. "Okay," she said, her imagination going in twenty different directions.

He stood, feeling even sicker than this morning. This was... Well, it was big. He stood. "Try not to worry much." He said, though he knew that was possibly the worst advice he could give. He made his way slowly out of the room

She nodded, watching him leave, then turned to look down at her belly. She put a hand on it pensively, wishing she could actually not worry about this. Oh right, the decision tonight. Well, that was easy at least, right? She could tell him no because he would probably order her sold so no gossip rags could get a hold of a juicy story like this.

Kyouya was usually quite good at focusing, despite circumstances. Usually. 'Usual,' however, had been a very elusive thing as of late. His mind was almost to far away now to hear the final bell.

Tamaki stopped by his friend's desk. "Hey, Kyouya, when are we going to hang out again?" He felt bad asking, but he missed Kyouya. And considering how much stress he had to be under, wouldn't a day off be good for him? "You promised you know," He smiled, saying the last bit coyly. Kyouya was never one to back off of a promise.

Ah. He'd almost forgotten about that. Of all the bad timing... "I realize that." He replied. "I'll be quite busy this week. Perhaps we could reschedule?"

His expression fell. "Kyouya, you've been so busy lately. Don't you think you should take some time to relax? Even you need to recoup every once in a while. And I got us tickets to see a statue of Buddha!"

Kyouya pressed his hand against his forehead. The very _thought_ of trying to squeeze time for ridiculous tourism in his own country was only adding fuel to his ever growing migraine. "We'll see." He replied, his calm sounding rather forced.

Tamaki knew he'd said something wrong, although he couldn't pinpoint /what/ exactly that had been. He lowered his voice, "Well, Haruhi's alright, isn't she?"

'Yes' or 'no.' It was too complicated for simple words like that. "She..." He wanted to tell him. Beg for help, even. But he just couldn't do that, not to himself or to Haruhi.

"She'll be fine." He intended to ensure that.

Tamaki didn't know if he was being completely honest or not, but he nodded anyway. "Alright. If you need anything, call me, okay?"

"I wouldn't call anyone else." That much, at least, was true. He stood, gathering his books and papers. "I'm thinking of sending Haruhi home for the day."

She must not be okay, then. Tamaki wanted to react as he usually would, sobbing about 'his precious daughter' and how 'all she needed was time with her daddy,' but after this weekend, he couldn't bring himself to. Instead, he said, "She would be missed, but if it's for the best, I can explain to her guests."

"I'll talk with her about it." Kyouya replied. "I'll see you at club."

Who was he kidding? Tamaki knew he was lying to his face, practically on a daily basis these days. He sometimes wondered why that guy stuck around.

Because he loved him, of course. Tamaki waved his friend goodbye, sighing to himself and wondering what was so huge that Kyouya had to hold on to it so tightly. He missed him.

Haruhi was ready to leave. She was ready to know for sure what was going on with her body, and she was ready to know _now_. She'd been listening for Senpai's footsteps ever since the bell had rung.

Why was he taking so long?

He was running late. Just another thing to feel like a monster for. He stepped into the nurse's office, striding across the room to see Haruhi. "How are you?"

Twitchy. No, itchy? Itching to go, probably. "Ready to go. That is, if you are." She'd already swung her legs over the side of the bed, secretly enormously relieved to see him.

He supposed, at this point, most everyone who frequented the club knew that something was up between the two. What was the use of trying to cover that up any more, so long as the details never got out? "Yes. Let's go."

She grabbed her bag hastily and followed him out. "Senpai... what are we going to do?" Pregnancy test? She didn't know how she would be able to stand it if that didn't happen soon. Although, he knew best so...

"First, we are going to find out whether you are pregnant or not." He replied. "We'll save our energy until then."

She nodded, holding bag straps tightly. Save our energy, huh? She had no idea what that meant.

He asked the drive to make a stop at the convenience store. He was, obviously, quite inexperienced in this sort of thing, but he had an idea of what he was doing. He was in training for the medical field, after all. It didn't take too long for her to get her back home after that.

They were back. Oh jeez, this was going to be weird. She got out of the car awkwardly, waiting for Senpai. "I, uh, shall we... your room?" She hoped the driver couldn't hear what probably sounded like an awkward booty call.

"Yes." He replied. The last thing he wanted were a lot of unnecessary questions and awkward well-wishes from the house staff. They were probably think it was his fault, to boot. He took her hand, taking her to his room.

It was almost freakishly calming, that walk. She felt very at peace with Senpai's hand around hers, and the knowledge that he had, indeed, come back for her in the nurse's office. (Obviously, she didn't think about the very real possibility of the test coming up positive, and imminent loneliness after that)

When they got there, she, unwillingly, let go of his hand and took the bag. "I'll be right back," she said, leaving him for the bathroom.

Kyouya tried to take a seat, but found himself far to anxious to sit still for very long. He hated it, but he found himself pacing about his room. Just what did he intend to do if it came up positive? She was really in no state of mind to carry a child, to _raise_ a child...

Pregnancy tests were weird. You didn't have to pee to find out if you had a cold, or malaria, or gall stones. (Well, maybe you did... she wasn't positive) But babies, you had to pee to find out if you were expecting. The test was very quick, as if was made to be, but the seconds seemed like hours in her rattled mind. She shook it off, carrying it woodenly to the bathroom door. "Senpai."

"Yes, Haruhi?" He replied. His voice still carried a stiff quality to it, like he was forcing himself to speak. "What does it say?"

* * *

><p>AN: Super long chapter is LONG.

The stuff we've been playing lately is too good to keep from you guys for too long, so I decided to just publish this crap ton of stuff. What did you guys think? I love the sleep-over bit; I was actually watching Princess Diaries 2 recently. XD Up until now, I've just had to edit stuff we've already written, making publish time obviously short. There's a bit I have to actually write, (I'm such a baby XDD), so expect the next chapter within a week sometime.

I love you all! (By the way, does anyone have a Tumblr? I've totally been tracking down all the Kyou/Haru stuff on there down recently XD) Talk to you soon!


	21. Friends

A/N: The next couple chapters are going to have some dark elements to them. I'll give proper warnings for all upcoming dirtiness.  
>Short chapter! Love you all!<p>

* * *

><p>She held it out, whole body numb. "Yes. I am." She was. She was pregnant. Pregnant with that horrible man's baby. She couldn't move.<p>

He paused, checking the results, just in case. Maybe she'd gotten it wrong... But, no. There it was, plain as day. "I see." He replied. All of the careful plans he'd been trying to make all day suddenly left his mind. The finality of it all just seemed to change everything. "Do you intend... To keep it?"

Tears filled her eyes. "Keep it?" She couldn't just... throw it away. "I don't know." You're my master! "I can't besmudge-" She hiccuped, tears coming faster. "Your name,"

"Haruhi, that doesn't _matter_ anymore!"

There. He'd said it. It felt sort of nice to get that off of his chest. Although, he supposed he could have gone about it in a much gentler manner...

She put her hands to her stomach in defense, an automatic reaction to his raised voice. "Senpai," she said, her voice low and breaking, "this would change everything." How could we do this? Would you leave me when it got hard?

He took a breath, his voice coming back down, much quieter. "I realize that." He replied. But he wasn't going to ask her to get rid of the child. He could only push her so far. "But this doesn't have anything to do with my family anymore."

She wavered in the air, suddenly needing somewhere to sit down. This was all too much. She found the couch and sank into it, taking a deep breath. She looked up at him seriously. "Senpai, you didn't sign up for any of this." Neither did she, but that wasn't the point, "I will do what needs to be done if that's what you want." Her mouth was dry. "Or... I can leave; repay my debt from afar."

"And do what? Raise a child on your own?" His emotions were running everywhere. He calmed himself down once more, before he started yelling again. "Haruhi, I'm not your master. I'm your... Friend. I want- I want your happiness."

Friend. She'd used that too, hadn't she. It was so... platonic. "I don't know what would make me happy!" Her eyes were clenched shut, body hunched over in anticipation, of what she didn't know, "So please; tell me what to do!" Her shoulders shook in fateful attempts to not burst out sobbing.

"No, no more crying. I won't allow it." He couldn't do this. How was he supposed to make this decision for her? This would effect her for the rest of her life.

"I'll go with you to America."

Wait, what? Was that really what he intended to do?

"My family isn't as well known there. You'll be able to delivery the child in peace." What to do after the child was born, though... One thing at a time.

"And... I don't want you going alone."

Her head snapped up, "No. That isn't an option." She gave him her fiercest look. "Your future is here, Senpai. Even when I was considering going to America, I wasn't going to even_ hint_ that you should come with me. No. I won't have it. We're just friends, right? I refuse."

Then again, why should she not just go? No one would care about some random pregnant girl there, and the media would certainly leave her alone. She could have the baby, find it a good home, and begin her education all at once.

She didn't understand. Deep down, he hoped she would. Hoped she would understand _why. Why_ he felt so strongly about leaving her alone.

He wished he could just say it.

But she was off limits.

"Is that really what you want?"

No, of course not. She wanted to spoon every night and wake up in his arms and get kissed and cuddle on the way home from school. But her life wasn't that simple. "No, but I won't ruin your future. I haven't had one up until now, but you have." She paused, rubbing her forehead. "I wouldn't... show for a while, would I?" Not that she wanted to try to hide a bloated baby bump for nine months, but maybe the extra time would help her make a concrete decision that was rational and thought out. "I could at least finish this quarter."

He looked her over, taking her progression of symptoms as well as time line into account. "You should have a few months before it becomes obvious." He replied, trying to leave all emotion out of this. They were only making things worse. "Finishing this quarter should be a seasonable enough request."

She put her head in her hands, relieved to at least have a few more weeks with Senpai. "Is it alright if I still turn down your father? My father has a friend in Karuizawa I could stay with." Yes! That was logical! That was good! Not too far, either.

"That decision is yours." He replied. He wasn't sure he wanted her in Karuizawa... But then, Misuzu seemed like an attentive enough care taker. "It sounds logical enough."

She stared at her hands for the moment, feeling as if this 'normal' thing was even harder than what she'd done before. Finally she looked up to him. "Senpai, can I just have a hug?" He'd deprived her earlier, whether on purpose or no, and she desperately needed his warmth right now.

He wanted to. But he felt they'd been getting so close lately. They were, after all, 'friends.' No. Friends could do at least this much for each other, couldn't they? Without another word, he pulled her into his arms.

She knew he'd said to stop, but she cried into his jacket. She fisted hand fulls of his shirt and clung to him like he was the only human on the planet. Still, she realized, he seemed hesitant, so she pulled away first, wiping her eyes and apologizing. "Thank you; I'm so sorry." I didn't mean to dirty your clothing, (or your life).

He absent mindedly stroked her hair. One could only hear that phrase so often before finally coming out with it. "You didn't do any of this by choice." He said. "Now. I have a summer house in Karuizawa." He began with the formalities, if only to move the conversation along before another emotional outburst could happen.

"You do?" Actually, that was stupid. Of course he did; he was Senpai. "Do you mean so you can visit me?" She wiped at the leftover tears savagely.

He nodded. He still didn't want her to be alone. "And, if things shouldn't go well at the penchant, I will bring you on staff as a maid."

She nodded, wondering how helpful she would be at eight or nine months. "Okay. And when the baby gets here...?" Maybe that was too far in advance, but was he expecting her to give it up for adoption? Not that that wasn't an option, but...

"We'll take care of that when it happens." He replied. Not his usual strategy, true, but, there had just been... Too much today. And they still had his father to face yes.

She reached out to run a finger along his hand, suddenly _very_ glad they hadn't... done anything that night in the car. The added worry of if was Senpai's or not would have been absolutely too stressful for her to take, not to mention hide from the media. "Alright. I trust you, Senpai." Words she still couldn't believe were able to be uttered so truthfully.

"Good." He said quietly. He promised he would take care of things. Somehow. It felt good to have a game plan for at least the next couple of months. Who knows. Maybe a little time apart would be good for them.

She sat back down, pulling a blanket around her. "I think I need to lie down for a bit, if you don't mind." She was _really_ tired, actually.

"You're probably right." He put a soft hand on her shoulder. "Rest a bit. We'll work out the details later."

She nodded, not even questioning that this was _the_ couch, and curled in on herself, falling asleep within minutes. At least that was something; she didn't have much trouble sleeping anymore.

He sat with her for a time. When he was confident that she wasn't going to wake up, he set about making preparations for the summer. There were a lot of contingencies to put in place.

It was the first time Kuretate Arai had been sober for a long time. Not to say that he was in a good mood, of course, but he wasn't drunk yet. Peeling himself off of the mat in his room proved to be more difficult than he'd thought, but he eventually was standing up, wondering what the _hell_ had happened.

How long had he been drunk, anyway? It almost seemed like as soon as he was about to sober up, he started drinking again, or was passed out. A few days? He vaguely remembered talking to someone... who was that?

"HIRO. COME HERE, NOW!" He bellowed out, not bothering to open the door. He heard his stupid mouse of a brother skitter up the door, opening it respectfully. "Yes? Did you need something?"

Hmph. He had the kid almost as trained as he had had the girl. The girl. "Somebody was talking to me about the whore. Who was it? What did you do?"

Hiro's face twitched, having been up with the baby almost 48 hours straight now, and hardly in the mood to remember_ anything_. "It was some man. I didn't know him, brother."

Kuretate stalked over to loom above the kid. "Why did he come? Who did I sell her to?"

(It would have been funny if it weren't so sad; but when you're not in your right mind so much, it did take someone else's memory to work for you)

"It was just some punk kid, brother! He didn't look important at all." But the new one did. Boy, did that one look powerful.

As a solid D's student, Kuretate couldn't tell much about reading expressions past knowing that his little brother almost _always_ knew more than he let on. He grabbed fist fulls of the kid's shirt and hefted him up quickly. "You know something, little _brother_, and you better start talking." Or what? He knew Hiro really didn't care if he beat him. The baby! "Or I'll give away that screaming kid!"

Hiro's eyes widened slightly, giving away how much he cared. "There was someone who came to talk to me a few days ago. A businessman. He wanted to know about Haruhi's past, but I didn't know anything. He probably sent someone to question you since I didn't know anything."

Haruhi? The whore? "And why did you tell him anything at all?" He pulled him closer to his face. "Huh? Why'd you think that would be okay?"

Hiro's eyes were everywhere but looking at him. "I'm sorry, brother."

He dropped the squirt on the floor, pacing across the room. "So I need to go beat the sense outta some preppy rich kid? I'll have to practice on you again, huh?"

After being dropped, he was still catching his breath again, but gasped enough air to say, "They probably wanted to find you for a DNA sample, you know. She's probably pregnant." He didn't know why that had popped out, but it had suddenly. He clapped his hand over his mouth.

Kuretate stopped. "Oh really? Hm." He stalked over to his brother again. "I'll have to take care of that then, huh?"

Hiro braced for impact.

Kyouya wasn't sure when or how, but somehow, he'd fallen asleep. Maybe all of the emotion from the day had drained him out more than he'd realized. He still felt incredibly tense, but his rational side was coming back to him after a proper rest.

He looked to the clock. Almost six... Father would be wanted to speak with Haruhi soon. Ah, she was still asleep. He pulled himself out of bed, and went to put a soft hand on her shoulder. "Haruhi?"

She stirred softly, moaning a bit. After a long moment of shifting and dragging her eyes open, she hazily murmured, "Senpai?" She smiled. "Good morning."

"Good morning." He replied. "I think it's about time you talked to Father."

She sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "Right. Okay." I can do this. "What do you think he'll do when I give him my answer?" She asked, pulling out the same outfit from before. Huh. It was wrinkled even worse this time. Maybe she should go with the school uniform...

"It's hard to say." He replied. "I don't think he approves of you staying here, however. Be prepared for that."

She hesitated for a second, then shook it off. What happened happened. And if Senpai wouldn't step in to let her stay here, that was his choice. They were friends, right? It only took her a minute to change. "Ready."

He took her hand once more. He doubted he would be allowed to take part in this meeting. Probably for the best. He wasn't sure he would be able to stay quiet about the situation. He came to a stop in front of the man's door. "Are you ready?"

She nodded, not wanting to relinquish her grip on his hand. "Senpai," She stopped, staring at him for a moment. No. She couldn't say anything important here. She reached up to run her fingers along his face, and smiled softly. "Never mind. Thank you for walking me here." Undoing her hand from his was harder mentally than physically.

"I have faith in your abilities." He said. He sounded much calmer than he felt, to be honest. "Go on."

And she did.

He barely looked up to her arrival. "Sit down, Haruhi," He said, finishing his paperwork quickly and putting it aside before looking to her. "I trust you gave this matter your complete attention, and thought it through as thoroughly as you could?"

"I have, sir." She replied. True, it wasn't the answer he was looking for. Undoubtedly not the most logical answer. But she was going to stand by it. "Thank you for your offer, but I'll choose to stay in Japan."

He wasn't surprised, but was still perplexed. "You've been offered a free ride to one of the most prestigious schools in the world. Explain, please."

"To be honest, sir, I'm not sure how well I would function in that sort of environment." She replied. "I'm only just beginning to adjust to my current one. Perhaps after a few years of-" She almost said 'normal.' Did that sound weak? "High school, I'll be more inclined toward this more drastic move."

"Hm." He turned his chair to look out the window. "Haruhi, as I'm sure you know, my sons have very hard jobs of protecting their names. The media is a cruel and wicked entity, and they do not hesitate to rip you apart if the opportunity arises." He tented his hands over his lap. "Whichever one of my sons takes my company for me is going to have a very hard job indeed, especially if their name is sullied so early on." He shot her a glance. "Does this all make sense to you?"

She nodded. "I understand, sir." She folded her hands before they started shaking. "However, I do work with your son. Cutting contact completely would be next to impossible."

She was absolutely correct. He'd seen the way Kyouya had looked at her, so in any case he probably would have put up a fuss. He turned to her. "Haruhi, have you denied yourself to my son?"

He'd done that all by himself, it seemed. "We're nothing more than friends." She replied, treading very carefully.

He snorted aloud. "You may be dismissed, Haruhi. Please send Kyouya in."

"Very well, sir." She stood, bowed, and left. She wasn't sure if she managed to hold her trembling until she'd left the room. She closed the doors behind her, about ready to pass out.

She sent Kyouya in.

"In any given situation, there are a certain set of paths and outcomes, Kyouya. You seem to be ignoring that." He looked over his glasses, noticing a slight foot tap.  
>"I would disagree." Kyouya replied, sitting. "I'm very aware of the possible outcomes. It takes time, but it is more than possible to manipulate those paths so that they lead where you wish them to. As I'm sure you know."<p>

He paused, weighing the words. Finally, he said, "Kyouya, you are becoming a man. You will need to prepare yourself for whatever work you should choose, and you'll need to have a family, if only for appearances. Up until recently, you had been very thoroughly preparing yourself well enough, but you've been distracted. On this path, you'll never find a suitable mate; no woman would agree to marry a man who is already so involved with a slave. Furthermore, Haruhi's loyalty would drop significantly once you did have a spouse."

"With respect, I disagree once again." Kyouya replied. "By that point in my life, Haruhi will have paid her debt to me. She will no longer be a slave. Her loyalty to the family will be profession, and well compensated. One the issue of our current relationship: We've gone to great lengths to keep it, first, a secret, and second, platonic. I see no reason why any woman should object to a man of my standing."

Yoshio was tired of his son's rhetoric. "Leave. I'll speak with you later."  
>Kyouya blinked, standing. "Thank you, Father," he said, bowing to leave.<p>

Yoshio regarded his son for a moment. "Did I mention Haruhi?" His mouth turned up slightly. "I only ask because I need to start weeding out unlikely candidates soon." He was completely and utterly pushing Kyouya, seeing how far he could go before the boy snapped. He felt a bit bad, but not entirely. People would do this to him all of his life, if he were to take the company.

"You did not." Ouch. He almost got him there. "However, I knew what you were implying with such a question."

"No, you seem to have taken my words completely out of context. You will marry someone of high standing, with strong roots. Haruhi has neither of those."

"I understand this, father." He replied. "As I've previously mentioned, my relationship with Haruhi does reach beyond the boundaries of business partners and colleagues."

He raised his hand. "Speak frankly with me; I can tell when you're lying." He lay his hands on the table firmly. "While you will _marry_ for those things, I have never forbidden you from having a _lover_ who possesses other qualities." His face softened. "That is even a common practice in our world." He knew, personally, how much it affected one's financial well-being to be cut off from someone you cared deeply about because of the politics of his work. He knew also how open he was being with Kyouya. That wouldn't happen again, at least not in the foreseeable future.

Was this.. What, another test? "While I appreciate the gesture, that will not be necessary." He said. "She is in no fit state for such a relationship and, as we've mentioned, if word got out, it would be pure scandal."

He shrugged. "As you wish. However, I disagree about it being scandal, assuming you claimed her as your lover. As I said, it is quite a normal relationship in yours and my world, Kyouya. However, she is still in recovery, as I've seen, and it is completely your choice to deprive you both of something so anticipated." He adjusted his glasses. "Although, that is neither here nor there. I wanted to remind you that I will need your transcripts soon to look over your work. Have them to me at your earliest convenience."

Just what did this man want from him! Of all the mental labyrinths he had to navigate when dealing with this man, _this_ above all else felt impossible.

He stayed calm, however. "Very well. You'll have them in the morning. Will that be all?"

He had many more pressing things that needed his attention, although pushing his son's buttons was an interesting past time. "Yes, go. And Kyouya? Don't take too long to decided on what I said; the rumors would be worse than a declaration."

"Yes, father." He replied. As if that man understood anything about Haruhi's situation. Taking her as a lover? Out of the question. That would be flagrant abuse of her vulnerable mental state. How was she ever to heal if he took advantage of her, just as she was starting to feel human again? Ridiculous. He bowed stiffly before exiting the room.

Baffling.

The one in question was planted unceremoniously on a chair outside of the office. She looked up, obviously stressed. "Well?"

He wasn't entirely sure. "Your position is looking optimistic." He replied.

She brightened. "Really? I thought for sure he would... well, never mind." She stood to join him, taking his hand happily. "What did he say?"

"Quite a few things." Kyouya replied. None of which he was comfortable with putting on her. He had no intentions of putting even more pressure to... 'Preform' on her. "Over all, he doesn't seem to entirely disapprove of our relationship."

That was such a relief. She hugged his arm, resting her head against it as they walked. "That is _so_ good to hear. Excellent. I'm glad he didn't throw us anymore curve balls this time."

Oh, he wouldn't go that far. However, he would handle this particular curve ball on his own. "Let us hope this trend continues."

She ran her hand over her belly unthinkingly. "Yeah. I'm glad he's happy." She paused, then added, "Although I'd much rather please you than him, Senpai."

Despite everything, he allowed himself to smile. She was so... He refused to use the word 'sweet.' "Ensuring my father is content certainly does please me." He assured her.

Despite everything that had been happening, she still kind of wished that he would sweep her up in a fit of passion and carry her off to do unspeakable(ly wonderful) things to her. All she could give him though, was a smile and another little squeeze to his arm. "Should we have dinner sent up?" She asked as they entered his room.

"Yes, let's." He wasn't sure he could stomach any more of his family right now. "What would you like?"

She shrugged, flopping onto the bed, her feet tired already. "Whatever you want." She stretched, her arms as far above her head as they'd go, the muscles loosening deliciously. "I don't care."

"Very well." He watched her through the corner of his eye. Why did he do things like this to himself? Oh well. He brought her to the bedroom, their only safe place these days.

Come to think of it, she was really tense. Her whole back felt like one big knot. As Senpai went to the phone, she stood up to stretch. She started with her legs, moving on to her arms, to save her back for last. She arched, trying to work the lumps out on her own. Ouch. That hurt more than she'd thought it would.

He watched her, hanging up the phone after a brief conversation. "I do have some training int he field of massage therapy." Again, why did he do these things to himself. "If you'd like."

She looked up at him, surprised, but not too much so. "Yeah, that would be wonderful." Wait, should she stand? Sit? Lay down? "...Where would you like me?"

"On the bed, please." That was a perfectly platonic thing to say. "Or the couch, if you prefer."

"No, the bed's fine." She thought back to the bath, wondering if she should disrobe, but unsure of how to ask. "Should I... do anything to get ready?"

"Well, it would be more effective without your shirt." He said, as clinically as possible.

She ducked her head and colored, nodding dutifully and unbuttoning her shirt as quickly as her shaking fingers would allow her to. "So I'll just," She began, not quite finishing and climbed onto the bed slowly, tummy-side down. She couldn't look at him, and she knew how hot her face still was.

"Just relax, if you would." He moved to stand behind the bed. This was a bad idea. Friends didn't do this for each other, did they? He flexed his nervous fingers, before laying them on her back. Gentle, at first, feeling for the knots. Soon, his fingers and palms began to dig deeper, burying themselves in her soft, smooth flesh.

She nodded a little, thinking how easy it would be to simply _melt_ under his ministrations. She knew how quiet she'd always been made to be during intimacy, and tried to implement that rule now, desperately trying to ward off the soft moans of pleasure as his strong fingers worked away her aches.

Kyouya stayed quiet, as well, working through the process as professionally as he could. Although, it would be a lie to say he wasn't taking his time. She was so warm... So soft... And yet, this wasn't enough. His fingers thirsted for more. That electric feeling was back, the tingling sensation slowly working its way up his arms.

No, no, no, that would not due.

"Senpai," she whispered, "Lower, if you would." It was true that her lower back was the area with the most pain, although she could only imagine what _Senpai's_ hands would feel like there. She bit her lip, hoping he wouldn't draw away in defiance of her brash command.

He moved slowly downward. She really was knotted pretty badly. How miserable she must have been lately. "How's that?"

She sighed contentedly before catching herself. "Incredible." More than that, though. It was heavenly, delicious. She didn't want him to ever move away.

Well, if she was enjoying it, maybe he could just take his time...

Though he'd worked out all of the knots long ago, he couldn't take his hands away from her. He felt like he was slowly melting into her...

It felt so _good;_ she couldn't concentrate on anything else. "My neck, Senpai?" All over her. His hands needed to be all over her.

"As you wish." She was the client today, after all. He was all about pleasing the client. He moved his hands back upwards, working the muscles firmly.

She couldn't feel anything but the extraordinary things Senpai was doing to her. "Senpai," She moaned, forgetting the quiet rule entirely. "Everywhere." She wanted to touch him now, too. And kiss him. She opened her eyes, trying to look at him.

And suddenly, his hands were on fire. His face followed suit. He opened his mouth to reply, but a knocking at his door, thankfully, saved him from what was no doubt going to be an embarrassing moment. "That would be dinner." He managed to squeeze the words out.

He'd stopped. She hadn't even processed the words he'd said, but he'd stopped. Her whole body was cold now, everywhere his hands had been were freezing with neglect again. (His hands were good, and she couldn't help but wonder how much better his mouth would be-)

She was in her own mind enough to pull the covers over herself as he answered the door to retrieve dinner. She watched him longingly, wanting to tackle him to the floor and plant big, unforeseen kisses all over his taut muscles. He'd stopped though, he had just been massaging her. He didn't want her.

He brought the tray over to the nightstand. Good. Things were getting just a little too intense. He shuddered. One more minute and they could have... Why did he feel so disappointed?

She sat up dizzily, needing to use the bathroom. She hurried off, leaving him alone with the tray for a moment. When she saw herself in the mirror, she couldn't believe how needy she looked. She could understand why he'd stopped; there was nothing about her now that was attractive. She exited the bathroom and hastily bowed. "I'm so sorry, Senpai! I'm trying my best to be less disgusting!" She said the last part quietly, still bent forward in submission. He must hate her.

He looked confused to say the least. He honestly just wished he understood what went through her head, and how she come to these ridiculous conclusions like this. "What are you talking about now?"

She didn't look at him, but straightened up slightly. "I know I shouldn't even _look_ like I need anything, but I did and I know how revolting that is for anyone above me and I just want to make you happy and I hate how much I disappoint you and... yeah." The whole thing came out as a jumbled rush, while she bobbed a few more times to show how truly repentant she was.

He sighed. "Haruhi. I thought we were beyond this." He crossed the room to put his arms around her again. "You're a human being, Haruhi. Not a slave."

She let him hold her rigidly, unsure of his seriousness. Other things he could let slide, but actual, truthful, _horniness_ directed at your master? That was unthinkable, unspeakable. "I-I-I can make up for it, Senpai. Let me make up for it, please." She shook lightly against his warm body.

"That is inconsequential to either of us." He replied. Though, deep down, his heart was burning to refuse. He didn't want just anyone his father approved of, he wanted... Someone special...

He gave himself a grim reminder that that would never happen. They were 'friends.'

"There's nothing to make up for." He said, stroking gently at her back. "You're just fine, Haruhi."

She shivered, feeling as if she were being tested. She pulled away from the embrace, taking his hand gently, as if holding something valuable. "I just don't want Senpai to become," She kissed each of his knuckles, "upset with me."

"I've no reason to be upset with you." He replied. "Now, come on. You need to eat."

She nodded woodenly, dipping down to retrieve her shirt. "Yes, Senpai."


	22. Kuretate

What was he going to do with her? He picked apart he previous scene, trying to discern just what could have sett her off. No matter how many times he repeated the exercise, he never got very far with it.

Once properly clothed, she balanced herself on the edge of the bed, almost wishing that Senpai could be easy to read, like the others. Horny, annoyed, angry. Senpai had a host of other emotions he let her into, and didn't even react properly to the basic ones. She nibbled at her food, putting it aside after a few moments. "I don't think I'm hungry," She said quietly.

"You may not feel that way." Kyouya said. "But right now you need more nutrients than usual. You should make some effort to eat."

She took another bite, then set down her fork again. "There?"

He sighed. "I'd at least like you to finish your plate before going to bed. Even if it takes you a few hours."

Well that was slightly infuriating. She took a large bite, over-chewing it and swallowing dramatically. "Fine." But she was going to make it last. And last. She cut the next piece smaller than the fork's head.

"Thank you, Haruhi." He sighed. Where was this obstinace coming from all of the sudden? He supposed it was a good sign, anyways.

The defiance faded almost as quickly as it had come, (on the wings of guilt, mostly), and she finished her food quietly. After a moment she asked, "Senpai? What would you name- I mean, what names do you like?"

He seemed a little taken aback by the comment. Naming children was something he never, honestly considered. If he got to that point, he intended to let his wife choose, as right now such a thing seemed so frivolous and unsuited to him. But... This was different somehow. It shouldn't have been. He had nothing to do with this child, and yet...

He thought of classical names, great men of literature and science. Ihara, Akinara, Yobo... All quite tragic, he realized. How was one meant to go about choosing a name for a child? It suddenly seemed like such a huge task.

"Something simple." He replied, after a moment realizing he was over-thinking things just a touch.

She'd been thinking along more simplistic lines to be honest. Kotoko, for a girl maybe. Rin, Taiyou, Hiro, even. Or, or, "Kyouya," she murmured, thinking aloud but not realizing. She continued without realizing her slip. "Yeah. I would like to keep it simple.

"What do you think; boy or girl?" He wondered if talking about this was really a good idea. It seemed so... Personal.

She thought for a second. "I can't tell yet what it _will_ be. But I think I want..." She rubbed her middle, thinking, "A girl. I'd like it to be a girl. Do you have a preference?"

(Not to mention how scared she was of a boy looking like... his _father_. A girl would have much more chance to take her genes, she felt)

He smiled softly. Yes, a little girl would be-

No, this wasn't his child. This was Haruhi's child. It had nothing to do with him.

"I think I'd like to wait and see." He said.

Her pulse was speeding up a bit; once she had a real, live, baby that was in the world, what was she gonna do with it? She'd had to find a place for it to live, (she couldn't have _two_ people mooching off of Senpai's bed. Not to mention hospitality), and clothes and diapers, and food and after a while it would need to go to preschool, than grade school, and how would she be able to afford that? (Much less pursue an education, and even more pressing; how to pay off her debt in that kind of circumstance?) It was a bit dizzying. "I'll have to get a really good job, won't I?" She asked, mostly to herself.

"Of course." He replied. "One doesn't attend Ouran Academy expecting a job in food service."

Her eyes turned to him, wondering what that meant, (in real life, not in theory), but smiled. "I wouldn't dream of it." She snorted. "I could always become a host at a real Host Club. Or an entertainer, you know, if I were desperate." She sighed. At least those things she was sure she knew how to do.

"Is that really what you want from life?" He asked. He propped his head on his fist to fix her with an intense stare.

Of course not. Her kick-start reaction was that she would rather drown in a well than go back to anything even _similar_ to what she used to go through. "No," She said carefully, but firmly, "But if I'm to be a mother, my child will have a good life." Her brain was adding, 'unlike mine', but one thought of her own mother made her guilty enough to nix it.

"Hm. You dedication is admirable." He replied. "However, as your education is in my hands, I will ensure that such a measure is not necessary, one way or another."

She scooted slightly closer to him. "Alright." There was no point in questioning it; He was Kyouya Ootori, "Where will I work?"

"That, Haruhi, is up to you." He replied. "Perhaps you'll go to law school, like your mother. Or maybe medical school, as you seem to have taken a shining to the field."

Her head rested against his shoulder, she folded her hands and hummed quietly. "What about until then? I'm not going to have a degree in..." Oh crap, this was going to be the first time she said it. Without saying it, it didn't seem so close, but the words made it so much more real. "Nine months." She swallowed hard. "What about then?"

"Well, as you're debt has yet to be paid, you still fall under my protection, financial and otherwise."

Her toes curled in, feeling instinctively safer. "I don't expect you to fund my mistake, Senpai."

"It's not your mistake, as far as I'm concerned." He adjusted his glasses. More feelings. This was hard. "If anyone is to blame, it should be Kuretate. But that's not important. I must protect your well being, as well. I can't imagine you'll keep a strong focus on your academics if you also have a child to worry about."

She'd never heard anyone talk about her old master with that... tone. She'd never talked about him unless completely necessary, and Arai-Kun's voice had always been laced with hate and fear at any mention of his brother.

But not Senpai. He sounded annoyed, angry, even jealous; but not afraid. She curled in on him, as close as she could be to his side, and sighed. You're too good for me, Senpai. Instead, "I will give my schooling everything I can. I've missed out on it for long enough to begin neglecting it now."

"Indeed. I'm glad you're taking this seriously." He replied. "Now. Shall we get some reading done tonight?"

She nodded, happy at least for the time. She settled down next to him, unwilling to give up the proximity, and watched the words as he read them. She still struggled with the bigger ones, but reading seemed to come quite naturally to her. She stopped him every so often for explanations.

He'd lost track of time, reading to her. He stopped around the time his eyelids started threatening to slide shut of their own accord. He let out a soft yawn. "I think that's it for today." He said, tucking the bookmark into the chapter. "Are you feeling tired yet?"

Honestly, she was only just beginning to feel sleep come on, but nodded anyway. "I'll go change, then."

He nodded, almost forgetting that he hadn't yet done the same. He reluctantly climbed out of the soft, warm bed.

As she retrieved her clothes, sleepiness descended on her as well. She yawned, gathering up the things and threw a glance over her shoulder. "Do you mind?" She asked, motioning to the bathroom.

"Ah, of course." He offered a nod. He went to collect his nightclothes, as well.

It only took a moment to jump into the pajamas, with Haruhi purposefully not dwelling on her pathetic body. It was healing. She knew it took time. Once she was done in the bathroom, she wandered out, yawning again and crawling up into the big bed to wait for Senpai.

Kyouya had finished changing. He almost seemed to be dragging himself across the room. He crawled up into bed, too. It was strange, how routine this was becoming. It hadn't really been that long, but it was already second nature. Curling up next to her at night, waking up with her...

He wandered what he would do during the summer.

"I'll turn out the light," she said, reaching up to flick out the bedside lamp. In the darkness, she wiggled closer to him, relishing how _perfectly_ her body fit into his. She hadn't ever expected to spoon with anyone, especially with someone so... wonderful. "Senpai?" She ran her fingers along his hand.

He twisted his wrist to lace his fingers with hers. Like a friend would. "Yes?"

She sighed, letting her body mold into his; it was so comfortable, so surreally calming. "Thank you for understanding." Her other hand reached up to dance across his face for a moment, dropped back down to help it's twin adore the hand they'd caught._ I love you._

He wasn't so sure he 'understood,' so much as 'dealt with' her problems. But, he appreciated the thought. "You're welcome." He sighed contentedly. Even if they were only friends, for now, this was nice. He would enjoy it.

It was strange to think how much she thought about him during the day. She'd continued to pet at his hand, then brought it closer to kiss a few times, "And I'm glad your father approves of me, at least for now." At least until he heard she was knocked up.

Ah, hand kissing was just something to be expected of a girl in her position, right? Something close friends do. Tamaki did it to women all the time. "As am I." He replied. He brought up her hand, letting his lips brush it just ever so gently.

Her face heated up in the dark. Wouldn't now be the perfect time? They were cuddling, in his bed, falling asleep peacefully. She could just whisper it as he fell asleep, maybe it would wedge into his dreams. 'I love you, Senpai.'

But no. There were too many things going on, too much on their plates, too much stress. She couldn't add anything else to his mix, at least not now. She contented herself with the feeling of feeling his warmth on the other side of their pajamas, and the calmness of his steady heart beat on her shoulder. "Good night, Sen-" No, they were past that at least, right? Alone, with no one to hear, "I mean, good night, Kyouya." She kissed his hand again.

He felt his face getting a little warm. He knew that that was bordering on the edge of inappropriate conduct, but... Well, it felt good. hearing her say his name like that.

"Goodnight, Haruhi." He sounded like he had more to say. No. 'Love' was not a word they would use between each other. He did not love her. They were friends.

Her heart had been racing as she waited for him to respond, half-expecting an outburst of some kind, and knowing how warranted it would have been. To hear him wish her well so gently, it was nice. Overly nice, even. She would have dwelt on it more, but sleep had found and claimed her quickly that night, sending her into pleasant dreams. (A new and amazing discovery)

He must have slept very deeply that night, because when Kyouya awoke the next morning, he barely felt tired at all. Weird. Maybe it had something to do with looking forward to something every morning... He turned over to look at her pretty face, just briefly, before he could fully awaken and rationalize his feelings for her.

She'd felt his eyes on her before she'd been quite awake. Opening them to his intense, and still sleepy, eyes was surprisingly nice. She blinked drowsily. "Good morning, Senpai," She murmured quietly, yawning. She didn't want to get up. Five more minutes.

"Good morning." He managed, before letting out a yawn. He pulled the covers up to her chin. She didn't need to get up just yet. He climbed out of bed to order breakfast and change.

She blinked, watching him from the bed, trying _not_ to appreciate his muscles working deliciously under his shirt, (Okay, and pants), smiling at... well, just at him. He made her smile. That's the way it was. "Did you sleep well?" She calling softly when he'd finished on the phone.

"I did." Startlingly well, considering all of the thoughts that should have been swarming through his head all night. "And yourself?"

She nuzzled under the covers, enjoying the heat still radiating from his spot. "Well. I even dreamed tonight." It really was an accomplishment. Even with everything that had happened yesterday, her subconscious hadn't come up with anything evil to throw at her over the night. It was wonderful.

He busied himself folding his cuffs down, pretending to attempt hiding a little grin. "A good dream, then?" It was nice to be reminded, from time to time, that she was healing. By leaps and bounds, even.

Well, it was about Senpai, so yes. She colored a bit. "Yes. Very much so." Actually, it was kind of embarrassing to remember now. She supposed normal girls didn't dream about their owners taking them dancing and to the movies, but normal girls didn't have masters, and certainly didn't have anyone like Senpai. She looked away.

"I'm glad to hear it." He said, his voice low, genuine.

The butler soon came with that food, as he did every morning. Kyouya sometimes wondered what he thought of them. Not that it mattered.

She crawled out from the covers sleepily, her head pounding with a fresh headache, but she was generally glad that she didn't seem to have morning sickness today. "May I have some tea, Senpai?" Maybe that would help her head. She put a hand up to it to steady herself.

"Of course." It didn't take a very large leap to anticipate such a request. The butler had brought a nice hot pot for the two of them. He poured the tea with the poise of a well trained host, and brought her the cup

She accepted it gratefully, feeling his fingers for a moment and heating up a bit. She was such a sap. Every little bump shouldn't mean so much, as she scolded herself. She sipped at the drink slowly, dizzily coming back into reality. "Anything special for today, Senpai?" She asked when she was sure she wasn't going to erupt in a brain-filled oozy mess.

This peace of mind would certainly be a change of pace.

"I believe I'm required to spend some time with Tamaki at some point." Kyouya replied. "I'm not sure what ridiculous tomfoolery he has planned, but I'm sure he would be more than happy to have you along."

The headache made her want to refuse, but she loved Sen-

She loved being with Senpai, so she carefully nodded and said, "As long as I'm feeling alright; I don't want to be a bother."

"Indeed. He may want to do something senseless like rock climbing." The thought gave him one of his irritation headaches. "If so, then I shall decline."

She quickly put up her hand. "If you don't mind, I'd really like you to go." Her head lolled sheepishly. "I've been causing you a lot of stress and you need time to have some fun. Please go?"

He sighed. Perhaps some time away from him would be good for her. He would hate to replace her mistrust with co-dependence. If he hadn't already done so. "If that's the case, would you like to be taken to your father's house after school?"

She frowned. Dad would be asleep. "No... I could just lock the door, couldn't I?" She didn't want to try to get used to somewhere else for such a short time. (Yes, she did still have to think like that; plus, everything that happened here was recorded, so she could always use the tapes against anyone who would try anything) "Please?"

"If that is what you'd like to do." He replied. He didn't like the thought of leaving her alone, however, he supposed it was a skill she would need to develop in time.

She sipped at her tea, wishing for another hour of sleep. Finally, she dragged herself up and stumbled to her clothing. "Tamaki-Senpai's taken you on a lot of trips, hasn't he?" A faint bolt of jealousy sang through, but she quickly pushed it away.

"A handful, perhaps." He replied, recalling all of this ridiculous vacations in the infancy of their friendship. And, of course, all of those odd, first year host club trips to beaches and resorts. He really was troublesome.

She tugged on her dress shirt, "Where?" Historic places? Out of the country? The beach? All of those sounded very interesting to her, but she could imagine what kind of trip they would have been with Tamaki-Senpai as tour guide.

"Mostly tourist traps around the country." He replied. "Festivals and plays, resorts, that sort of thing. Nothing too offensive by itself, but, as you can imagine, with Tamaki around, it was...Draining."

She snorted. "I see. What did he suggest for today?" She didn't know what you did with friends outside of school; her pool of knowledge to draw from was limited, obviously.

"He hasn't made any concrete plans yet." Admittedly, he hadn't given him much of a chance, as of late. He certainly deserved whatever ridiculous thing he wanted at this point. "Something local, I hope."

She paused. "Local? You won't stay away, will you?" A whole night alone? It was terrifying, to say the least.

"No." He couldn't do that to her. Not yet. He had to break away slowly, over time. Although, she would most certainly have to get used to it before this summer...

She relaxed, finishing her dressing quickly. "Thank you. I mean," She was such an idiot. "I'm sure you'll have fun. Despite yourself."

"We'll see." He didn't sound to confident in that prospect. He poured himself a cup of tea, trying not to dread it too hard. "I suppose it's about time for us to leave, hm?"

She found her backpack, nodding. "Shall we?" She smiled, genuinely happy. They were just two kids off to school, like anyone else.

He took hold of his school bag, as well. "Ladies first." He opened the door for her once more. Well, that was sufficiently out of character that perhaps today _would_ be a good day.

She laughed a little, playing the lady, and took his arm lightly as they walked. "We should have another dance lesson soon, don't you think?"

He had been thinking of that last night. While she was very good already, she hardly had the refinement required for social gatherings just yet. Not that he could take her to any. "Perhaps if I'm not out too terribly late, we'll have one before bed."

She nodded. "Alright, that sounds fun." Fun. Hm. _That _was certainly something she hadn't been expecting out of life. "I'll become a lady yet, huh?"

He grinned, trying to hide the sincerity of it before his glasses. "I do believe you are well on your way."

The car was waiting, as usual, and as she was handed in, Haruhi realized how much she enjoyed simple things; like order. She _knew_ that if she was going to go somewhere with Senpai, everything would be orderly and run smoothly. Her meals, school schedule, and even now her sleep schedule. It was finally falling into place, however haphazardly on the way. She checked her phone, (out of habit), and settled in next to Senpai.

He enjoyed routine, as well, to a certain extent. Now that the big question of father's approval was sort of out of the way for a while, he felt that he was finally nicely adjusted to this new addition to his life. Of course, a few months down the road, things were going to change again, and quite dramatically...

But that was a problem for another day.

She snuggled into him, not overly so, and enjoyed the ride in peace. No matter what today held, she thought, she could handle it. Senpai would be there, anyway, so what did she have to worry about?

As always, he was reluctant to let her leave on her own. Just once, he'd like to indulge his little impulse to walk her to class. But, no, he couldn't do that. People might talk. That talk would reach father. Father would disapprove. "I'll see you at lunch, Haruhi."

She nodded and had a sudden image of him sweeping her up kissing her goodbye, but not only was that completely out of character for Senpai, her gender was a secret here, and two of the hosts kissing in the hall? That would spread fast. "See you, Senpai," She returned, walking to class on her own. Which felt like a struggle. Her feet hurt.

Kyouya carried himself off to class, as well. While his mornings had been so pleasant lately, school was becoming more and more of a drag. Ah, he supposed he aught to talk to Tamaki today, huh?

The blonde was sitting at his desk, concentrated fully on his calculator. He didn't even notice his friend walk in, (a _very_ odd thing)

Kyouya was a little surprised by this. His friend was usually so... Peppy in the mornings. Especially when it came to greeting friends and acquaintances. He wondered just what his idiot was up to this morning. He came and quietly took a seat, waiting for a lull in the man's concentration.

When he finally was noticed, Tamaki lit up. "Kyouya! You need to help me! I was told that you can spell things in English on a calculator! I was told that 518008 was 'hello', but that doesn't look right. Will you fix it?" He thrust out the device.

Kyouya had the almost overwhelming urge to smack his forehead, but as usual, he denied himself that pleasure. "Give it here." He had told himself this morning that he would indulge his every imbecile's whimsy. He punched in a few numbers, and flipped it upside-down for him.

Tamaki laughed, looking at it now. "That looks right, now! That man I talked to must not know how to spell very well, does he?" He beamed at Kyouya. "Thanks! I knew you could get that settled for me!"

"You're welcome." He replied, completely straight faced despite his friend's oddness. "Are you free today?"

His expression paused, than switched to elated. "Of course! Anything for you, mon ami'! I didn't think _you_ were though!"

"My schedule has opened up in light of recent events." He replied vaguely. "I did say I would make time for you at some point, did I not?

He should have been slightly offended that time together seemed to be such an inconvenience, but Tamaki was ecstatic. "I'm so glad! I swapped the Buddha tickets for something even better: scuba diving! Never before will you have seen the reef like this, Kyouya. _Trust_ me, this will be amazing!" He bounced lightly in his seat, hard-pressed to find a way to bottle any of himself back.

Ah, scuba diving. The perfect activity for one with impaired vision. He supposed he could dig out his contacts. "That sounds like a sight to behold." He said, calm but not altogether unenthusiastic. "And when will this take place?"

"Why, today, of course!" Tamaki was grinning from ear to ear. "Do you think Haruhi would want to come?" He asked, not at all wanting to see how cute she would look in a scuba suit? He didn't flush, either. Nope.

"Hm, I'm not entirely sure that swimming is her forte." He replied. What's more, the pressure of the environment could be potentially harmful in her condition. "I'll be sure to ask her."

Tamaki beamed. "Great! We'll have so much fun, Kyouya! I can't wait!" He was wiggling slightly in his seat, radiating excitement.

"Nor can I." Kyouya replied. If that was true, he seemed to be having a very easy time of hiding his excitement.

Meanwhile, the twins had been having a very hard time of 'cheering up' Haruhi.

"Guys, I'm fine! I just have a little headache." She bared her teeth in an attempt to smile. "See?"

"That's the most pathetic smile I've ever seen." Kaoru said with a frown. "What's up with you lately?"

She put her head in her hands. "I've just been tired. I'm sorry, I know I haven't been around much." She snorted to herself. If they only _knew._

Hikaru put his hand on her shoulder, trying to be soothing. "Well, that could be fixed, right Kaoru? You could come hang out at our house every once in a while!"

"Yeah, maybe you just need to get out more often!" Kaoru chimed. "Why don't you come over after school today?"

Ugh. Why. She didn't want to. "Ummm... maybe," she said noncommittally. "I'll see how I'm feeling."

Hikaru rolled his eyes. "Well there goes _that_." He mumbled.

Kaoru sighed. He had a feeling she might be feeling so down because Kyouya kept such a tight leash on her (metaphorically, he hoped.) If she got out to have some fun from time to time, she might actually start acting normal.

She knew she'd probably ticked them off, especially with how elusive she'd been at club lately, so she gave her best host smile and said, "Look, I want to hang out with you guys too. I'm just not feeling good. If not today, than sometime this week, okay? Would that make you happy?"

Hikaru smirked. He knew they had to be playing at her guilt somehow. "Yeah, I guess Haruhi. We just miss you, is all."

"We're worried about you." Kaoru said, slinging an arm around her shoulders. "Just don't forget, okay?"

She nodded, trying to pull out her homework. "Don't worry, I won't." Hm. She should probably check with Senpai, anyway. "Class is about to start, so let go of me." Blunt.

"Yeah, yeah." Kaoru let go of her, returning to his seat.

Lunchtime came up quickly, and Haruhi actually felt kind of hungry as the twins dragged her to the lunchroom. Now, where was Senpai? She looked around the room, not wanting to have to resort to mooching off of the twins again.

Kyouya showed up shortly after this thought entered her mind, as though she had willed him there. "Good afternoon." He greeted the trio.

"Hey, Senpai." Kaoru replied, lukewarm. He just didn't know what to think of this guy anymore.

Her knee-jerk reaction was to light up at the sight of him, but thankfully she was learning to control that. It passed after only a second of relief on her face and she responded, "Hello. How was your morning?"

Hikaru watched it all with a slightly worried expression. Why did she fawn like she did?  
>Even when she tried to hide it, it was blazingly obviously how at least one, out of the two, had a thing for the other. And he didn't like it.<p>

"It went smoothly, thank you." He supposed it was rather immaterial at this point what the twins saw happening between the two of them. They knew they lived together, after all. He handed her a few bills. "Once again, I've forgotten to have a lunch packed for you. My apologies."

She clutched the money, still unused to handling the stuff. "That's fine. Did you already get your own lunch?"

Hikaru gave his brother a look. Of course, now that Kyouya-Senpai was here, they were practically invisible.

"I was on my way to." He replied. "Perhaps we should go together."

"Yeah, good idea!" Kaoru jumped in. "Let's_ all_ go _together!_"

Hikaru took Haruhi's arm again, chiming in with his own, "Yeah, us hosts have to stick together, right?" Plus, Kyouya should like the profits generated by them just being together.

Haruhi tried not to glower. "I suppose we should get lunch_ now_, no matter how we go about it." She dragged herself, (flanked by the gingers as she was), up to the line.

He knew something had to be done about these twins. They were suspicious, and whatever assumptions they had, they were probably closer to the truth than he would like. He would have to do something to throw off the scent... Somehow.

Once lunches had been purchased, Kyouya located them a table.

Haruhi was still dizzy from the money calculations when they sat down. Thankfully, she'd managed a seat next to Senpai, and she tapped him quietly to get his attention. "Here's the change, Senpai." Sheepishly, she held out the leftover money. "I'm sorry, I don't know if it's right or not."

Even from across the table, while one of their fans was bubbling to them, Hikaru was listening out of the side of his ear. She didn't know if it was right? How was she in _high school_ and didn't know about money? Something didn't add up.

Kaoru noticed this, too. He'd learned how to count money back in grade school. Haruhi seemed good enough with numbers, so it couldn't be that.

Kyouya made a mental note to teach her currency denominations after their dance lesson tonight. "That's alright. It's unlikely you would be short changed here."

She wanted to take his hand under the table, but she knew how closely they were watched by the ladies, not mention the twins lately. So she ran her fingers along his leg, lightly, trying to make it feel like a 'thank you', (how do you do that, again?), and went to eating her food. Which was really good.

Kyouya suppressed a nervous jitter. Perhaps 'nervous' wasn't the best word. He just felt a strong energy whenever she did little things like that. It was somewhat distracting. He managed to focus himself, however, and set about taking care of his own food.

Lunchtime, as usual, ended much too quickly, with much too little conversation with Senpai. As the bell rang, her headache came back, more piercing this time, and she decided a trip the nurse's might be in order before class.

"Will you be attending club today?" Kyouya asked as the group filtered out of the lunchroom. She didn't look like she was feeling to well...

She rubbed at her forehead absently. "Of course," she said, not having considered anything else. "You'll be there, so I will obviously be there. You're my ride home." Oh right, he was going out with Tamaki-Senpai. "I mean... well, either way, I'll be there. I just need something for my head."

"Very well." He replied. "Just, be careful with whatever the nurse gives you." He hoped she would pick up on exactly what he was saying.

She nodded. She was in the early stages of motherhood, after all. "Be-" Careful? Of course he would be. He was going to class, anyway. Good? That wasn't up to her, in any case. "I mean, have a good afternoon, Senpai."

"Thank you, Haruhi." He nodded to the twins, as well, as he left.

"Hey, how about I take you down to the nurse?" Kaoru offered. He was willing to help her in any way she would allow.

Hikaru nodded. "Yeah, let us take you, Haruhi."

She sighed. "Alright. Thanks, guys. I appreciate it."

Kaoru looped his arm around hers, gently steering her. He tried not to jar her too hard.

He sort of wondered if a headache was really the only problem here.

Hikaru wasn't thinking too hard about it, like his brother was, so he grabbed her arm more roughly. "Sure thing!"

Haruhi winced. The walk was short, thank goodness, and she left them to wait in the front part of the office. "I'll only be a minute," she said, untangling herself from them.

"Sure thing, Haruhi." He let go of her with a chipper grin.

Hikaru collapsed into one of the chairs. "What do you think's going on?" He asked, looking up at Kaoru. "Alla this stuff is so _weird_."

Haruhi greeted the cheerful nurse, "I just have a bad headache. Can I have something for that?"

"Of course, Fujioka-San! Is that all?" She smiled, going to get the painkiller.

She lowered her voice further. "This wouldn't... be harmful to a baby, would they?"

"I dunno." Kaoru replied. "Did you hear what she said to Senpai about making change? I mean, I know she's practically poor, but she has to have handled money at some point, right?"

Hikaru nodded, frowning. "Yeah, that was totally weird. I think even commoners use money, don't they? So what is Haruhi, then?"

Many exotic theories ran through his head, from an exotic concubine imported from a faraway land to an everyday black market salve. But that was all ridiculous, wasn't it? "I wish she would just open up to us about it."

Similar thoughts had been going through Hikaru's head. "Yeah, and about her and Kyouya-Senpai. First he's got no one, then suddenly Haruhi's here and practically fawning over him at ever opportunity. It's funky; something doesn't add up."

"Do you think..." He didn't want to say it. It was crazy, and out there, and... Scary to think about. "Do you think he _bought_ her?"

...Whoa. That was almost too insane to imagine. "Dude. That would explain a lot. And why she's always tired." He shivered, not wanting to delve into _that_ particular image. "And why she lives at his house. But... why would he send her to school?"

"I don't know..." Kaoru scratched at his head. Yeah, that seemed like a sizable plot-hole in his obviously ridiculous theory. "You're right. Kyouya Senpai wouldn't waste money like that."

Or maybe he only believed that because he didn't want to believe the alternative.

The one in question emerged from the back, still a bit pained looking. "Thanks for waiting, you guys. Are you ready?"

Hikaru stood, feeling suddenly more uncomfortable with her. "Yeah, we should get to class, shouldn't we?" He definitely didn't want to believe what they'd just discussed... even if it did fit almost perfectly. "Right, Kaoru?"

Kaoru hopped up, almost _too_ peppy. "Yup! Don't wanna be too late, right?"

Something had to be done soon.

Haruhi didn't notice that neither of them touched her on the way to class. Her headache was slowly fading, though, which was nice. She just hoped the rest of the day could go by smoothly, so she could take a nap.

Class had felt... Somewhat tense. He knew this shouldn't be bothering him as much as it did. After all, she was still Haruhi, right? (Unless she was instructed to act this way) And it probably wasn't even true, right? (Though, lately he'd realized he might not know Kyouya as well as he thought...)

When the bell rang, Haruhi stretched a bit, glad the day was over. "I'm ready for club, huh guys?"

Hikaru twitched at her voice. "Club? Oh right, club. Sounds good." He messily put away his things. "We should go to club, right now. Let's go to club."

Kaoru forewent his customary elbow grabbing and pulling routine today. Until this was all sorted out, he felt he should probably leave her be. He was definitely going to talk to Kyouya today.

They entered Music Room 3, Haruhi only vaguely noting that they were leaving her alone, (it was kind of nice, although she didn't know _why_ they were doing it), to see the King in Renaissance garb.

Hikaru hurried to join in on whatever antics Tamaki was indulging in today. He didn't want to think about Haruhi for a while. (Weird, that had never happened before, either)

Kyouya took Haruhi aside briefly. "Are you sure you're feeling up to this? I could have you taken home, if you wish."

She smiled. "I'm fine, Senpai. Really. I think I've missed my guests, anyway." She _did_ still have a lingering ache in her back now, but she would have all evening to rest. "But I'll go if you want me to."

"I'll allow it for today." he replied. "But if you start feeling sick again, feel free to excuse yourself. It wouldn't do for the guests to see you vomit."

"Of course." The money lost. "I won't let you down, Senpai." She assured, smiling. "I should go change."

"Very well." Admittedly, it felt like it had been far to long since he'd seen her all dressed up. Even if it was cross-dressing half of the time. "Do your best."

She nodded, unsurprised to see the classical dress awaiting her, another costume that would just barely hide her breasts. Did they not realize that she was trying to hide her gender at school? She put it on anyway, not having worn a corset like this in a while.

Kyouya began setting up tables as the guests came trickling in. Business would certainly be good today, as Haruhi had finally returned. Her fans had been quite worried as of late. Oh, if only they knew.

She tied the last bow, everything in place. She couldn't help but wonder what Senpai would think of this costume. She cocked her head, smoothing the skirt. Did she look good in it? Did it matter? Sighing, she went out to begin greeting her guests.

Kyouya took immediate notice. It was a little more high-fantasy than he usually liked, but somehow all of the ruffles and bows just sort of worked for her. Still, he couldn't help but picture her in a formal ball gown, dancing with him, flitting about between all the other high-class, lower-standards couples in the room..

The girls were certainly as bubbly as ever today. While exhausting, Haruhi appreciated their kindness, and did her best to make them happy. (She wondered what they though she'd done to make herself look like she had boobs popping out of her corset... although she couldn't imagine why they _seriously_ still believed she was a man)

As usual, Kyouya kept throwing glances at Haruhi's table. He knew he'd talked to Tamaki about these ridiculous, feminine outfits... But he couldn't stay terribly mad about it, given the results. Still, he would have to give him another serious talking to.

As club wound down, Haruhi was feeling surprisingly relaxed and energized. Maybe she could walk home! Senpai's house wasn't too far, and it was a nice day! She cleaned up her table with the intent of marching over there to ask him, when she noticed Hikaru edging over to his table. She decided to play it safe and change first, so she wouldn't interrupt anything.

Hikaru wasn't going to start anything until Kaoru was there. He wasn't called the 'Dark Lord' of the club for nothing, after all. He threw a glance over his shoulder, angry at his twin for making him wait.

Kaoru politely shooed the rest of the guests from the room, promising to see them again at lunch tomorrow, and bye, aren't you sweet! He didn't want any of this going down where other people would see it. He crept over to stand beside his brother, almost afraid to start something.

"Is there something the two of you need from me?" If they weren't making it obvious enough.

Hikaru cleared his throat. "Uh, Senpai, we've just been noticing something lately-"

"You'll have to be more specific than that, I'm afraid." Kyouya made a sow out of casually scanning their finance history for the week. If he could handle his father's interrogation, he could handle the twins.

"It's about Haruhi." Kaoru continued, taking a glance around the room, just in case. "It just seems weird that she showed up out of no where and fell head over heels for you."

"Yeah," Hikaru said, glaring at the older boy. "And she's always tired, and now she's been getting sick." He crossed his arms defiantly, "We think that there's more going on between you guys than you're letting on."

Kyouya's grip on the pen tightened. "And just what do you think is going on between _my cousin in law_ and I?" He made sure to stress what he hoped would be the end of the conversation.

"I think..." It was on the edge of his tongue, but saying it aloud felt so... So sick.

Hikaru was turning red, and he knew it. But something had to be done, right? "We think you bought her!"

There. It was out. For better or for worse. And if it was the latter, he was hiding behind Kaoru now.

Kyouya set the pen down, with very deliberate calm, before he broke it in his tense grasp. "And do you think my family would approve of such shady dealings?" He asked, fixing either of them with a set of piercing eyes. "I would have no use, nor time, for such a thing as a sex slave."

"Then what _is_ it with you and Haruhi!" Kaoru finally snapped. "It's obvious she's more into you than a cousin would be!"

"Yeah! You come to school together, you _live_ together, and have you ever _noticed_ how she looks at you?" Hikaru stamped his foot. "Come on, we're not that stupid!"

"Whether or not Haruhi has feeling towards me is far beyond my control." He replied. He would not be rattled, no matting how damning this seemed.

"But you _live_ together!" Kaoru reiterated. He quieted down when he realized how spirited he was getting. "She does whatever you tell her to, and she can't count money. How do you explain that?"

Kyouya fell silent. How did he explain that?

Hikaru watched his expression. Had they actually gotten him? "Senpai, you keep her _gender_ a secret here. We just want to know."

This didn't seem right. He shouldn't be telling them this without her here. He shouldn't be telling these two before he told his _best friend. _

"While my relationship with Haruhi is none of your business," He began, quietly, coolly. "I can assure you that there is nothing unsavory going on between us, sexual or otherwise."

As reassuring as that wasn't, Hikaru pressed forward. "So you are saying that Haruhi owes you nothing? She could walk away from you at any point?" He raised an eyebrow.

"As you know, she owes us for the vase." Kyouya replied. "We've established from the beginning that she can't simply walk away. And she simply isn't close enough to my sister's husband to borrow funds from him." He straightened his glasses, feeling a bit more confident in his tangled web.

Something still didn't feel right. "But the change..." Kaoru muttered.

"Perhaps her father has been handling the finances."

It was becoming obvious that Kyouya had been ready for an interrogation like this one. "Why doesn't she just live with her father, then?"

"It's simply a matter of convenience." He replied. Yes, he could do this. "I live much closer to the school than she does. It would simply be a waste of money to pay for public transportation every day. She'll be staying with me until the end of the semester."

Okay, that made enough sense. Whatever. "So what explains the fact that she practically worships the ground you walk on? I don't think 'relative' means you have to obey them like a parent!"

He grit his teeth. Just drop it already, you presumptuous rubes. "I should remind you that we are not related by blood. And again, her feelings for are no fault of my own."

Hikaru shrugged, 'hmph'ing knowingly. "I don't believe you, Kyouya-Senpai. There's something you're not telling us. And if you're hurting Haruhi, you're going to be hearing from me." He tried to look menacing. It was the thought, right?

Kaoru did his best to imitate his brother. Twice the power, right? "We _like_ Haruhi. A lot."

"I have no reason to hurt her." He sounded firmer this time. How could they even insinuate such a thing, those vermin! But, no, he had to stay calm.

"Whatever, Senpai." Hikaru rolled his eyes. "And that hickey she had was from some unknown boyfriend. You _never _lie to us."

That, at least, wasn't his fault. He bit the inside of his lip, before he screamed at them. They had no idea what they were talking about. How could they just... No. Stay calm.

"Are you quite finished? I don't imagine you're half as eager as I am to get out of these costumes."

No, he wanted Kyouya to come out and _say_ it. This little conversation had actually made him a lot more convinced that his theory was right, and every denial was more annoying. "By all means," he said, gesturing widely, fuming at the man. "Haruhi's changing now too, so make sure we're not looking before you sneak in with her." He rolled his words, making them sound as angry as he was. The sneak. Monster. How could he do anything like that to his friend?

Kyouya stood, slamming his hands down on his tabletop. "Don't you ever insult Haruhi's honor like that. Do you understand?"

Kaoru took a step back. He knew he wasn't prone to physical violence, but that look in his eye...

Even as scared as he was, Hikaru (mostly) stood his ground. He growled, "Just go change, Senpai. I think we know all we need to." He was going to get a black eye. He knew it. He was going to go home with a black eye and it was going to look so _ugly_ and gross.

He did look ready to throw a punch. His fist was clenched tight enough for the veins on his hand to raise. But he didn't. That would not suit him, and it would do Haruhi no favors, either. He turned on heel and left for the dressing rooms.

She, on the other hand, was done changing. She'd heard parts of the argument, and assumed it was about her, (especially when Senpai yelled her name... which was kind of hot, to be honest), but didn't know what to do. She couldn't just waltz back out and say, 'Hey guys.' when the twins seemed to know so much that they hadn't wanted them to know. So she took her backpack and sat down on the floor behind the divider, outside of the stall, and waited for Senpai. Because, of course, what else could she do?

Hikaru was almost hyperventilating. "Ican'tbelieveIjustdidthat," and "," momentarily quieted as he took deep breaths.

Kaoru put a supportive arm around his brother. "Whoa, calm down." Honestly, ugliness was the last thing he was worried about. He didn't doubt that Kyouya had ways of keeping them silent. This was how super rich families did battle. "You did it for Haruhi. That was pretty cool of you."

Kyouya stormed into his changing room, his blood boiling. They had _no idea!_ How could they make such flagrantly vile assumptions about _either_ of them?

She twitched at his anger, not completely sure if it was completely at the Hitachiins, or partially at her as well. She pulled her knees closer to herself, trying not to start shaking. This was the last thing she needed; she hated it when Senpai was upset.

Hikaru let out a huge breath. "So you think we were right then? You think he actually... bought her?"

"He got really defensive about it." Kaoru said. "He never really said 'no.' But i get the feeling we're missing something..." An unwanted gift, maybe?

Hikaru nodded. "Either way, we should get outta here for today. He'll be calm by tomorrow."

"I hope so." Kaoru mumbled. Calm Kyouya was almost scarier than loud Kyouya.

He'd finished changing by now. He couldn't help but feel she should have been, as well. "Haruhi." He called, attempting to cut all of the short breathed anger from his voice. "Are you having trouble with the corset?"

She shook her head, than realizing he couldn't see her, "No, I'm all changed." She was a bit timid. Maybe he'd wanted to help her! Maybe he'd wanted to undress her in the changing room, and she'd gone ahead to change without permission! Stupid! "I mean, unless there's something I needed...to... um, do before I change."

"No, there's nothing." He said, feeling much calmer now. "Take your time."

She nodded jerkily, and folded her hands. He sounded better now, but she still didn't know what to expect. She sat nervously for his exit.

He sighed wearily. He wasn't sure he had the energy to be tender for her today. He wandered out of the dressing rooms to find Tamaki.

Upon seeing him, she jumped up, finding it hard to stay balanced for a second before hurrying to catch up with him. She'd been planning on going home, but she was too nervous to ask permission to use the car now, and her phone didn't have his driver's number on it, so she tapped at his arm, quietly saying, "I'm going home now, Senpai, if that's alright."

"Of course." He replied. "The car should be waiting for you." He was very strict with his driver's schedule.

She nodded quickly, apprehensively, then skittered out of the room, happy for once to be on her own. She found the car quickly outside, than reconsidered. Senpai was going to be gone, so what would stop her from just walking home? It was a nice day, plenty of time before it got dark, and she could always call the driver now that she'd gotten his direct number if she was tired. He warned her to be careful, and she set off towards home.

Tamaki, having been ordering the next set of costumes, had missed all the drama, and found his friend with a hug. "Kyouya! Are you ready? I'm so excited; I've heard they keep _fish_ in the reef!"

"You don't say." He replied. What was he expecting, tigers? No, no. Don't be angry with Tamaki. He's just an idiot. "Yes, I'm quite ready." Getting out of here seemed like the best thing right now.

Kyouya's phone rang. Tamaki glanced at it. "I'll let you get that; I can go get my things."

"Thank you." He reached into his pocket. What now? He flipped it open. "Kyouya Ootori?"

"Ootori-San, thank goodness. You've got to listen; this is Hiro Arai."

He tensed again. This sounded serious. "I'm listening."

"My brother's mad. He turned on the tracker last night; I think he's gonna try to find Haruhi again." He sounded really tired, and kept sniffing as if his nose was a bit... off. "You've got her with you, don't you?"

No. She was with the driver, right? "I'll call you back." He hung up, immediately dialing the chauffeur to ask if Haruhi had shown up. After that brief conversation, and ran for his coat. "Tamaki!"

The blonde popped his head out. "Yes? Are you-" Kyouya looked frazzled. "Okay? What's wrong?"

"It's probably nothing,but-" He dialed Haruhi's number as he spoke. "There's just something that I have to check on."

Trackers were installed in every newly-bound slave before they were sold to their first owner. Haruhi's was just a pinprick in her upper arm, and she'd stopped noticing it there ages ago. It used to ache and ache, but now it was just part of her.

On the ground, her phone lit up, buzzing incessantly. Too bad no one was there to answer it.

He cursed, hanging up his phone. "I think Haruhi's in trouble." It didn't matter any more, his pride, his reputation. Let him know all about it, for all he cared. He needed to find her and he needed to do so _now._

Tamaki froze. "In trouble? How? What do we do?"

He was headed out the door. "We find her." He made a quick phone call to the secret police before calling Arai back.

"Ootori? Where is she? How can I help?" Arai gripped the phone tightly, realizing that this was at least, partially, his fault. He felt like vomiting.

"I need you to stay calm." Kyouya wasn't doing so well in that regard, but that wouldn't stop him from getting things done in an efficient, rational fashion. "Do you have any idea where he would have taken here?"

"No. He was irrational. He thinks she's pregnant and that she's keeping the baby from him. He wants the baby, Ootori. He'll do anything."

"I see." Kyouya replied through gritted teeth. "I've got my forces working on it, but if you hear from him, no matter how inconsequential, I want you to contact me _immediately,_ do you understand?"

"Of course. You've already tried the tracking beacon, then?"

"Do you know the frequency?" He never expected to need it, honestly. He was certain he could find the means to detect it.

Arai coughed. "I think so." He recited what he knew, which wasn't a lot. Mostly just what Kuretate had been shouting about before. "If that helps at all."

"I think that will do just fine." Kyouya replied, scribbling the number down on the expense report. "I'll contact you as soon as something is found." He hung up abruptly, getting back to his police force with the tracking number.

Tamaki flitted around, unsure of what to do. He made his friend a cup of tea, hoping that would be helpful in some way, but couldn't imagine what was going on. Haruhi had... a frequency?

She hadn't felt anything when the hand had grabbed her mouth from behind. In fact, this waking up part was more painful than getting grabbed, because her headache had multiplied. It had had babies. It was freaking huge.

And it didn't help that she was bound and gagged. "What's up, bitch?" A voice laughed from above her. "Remember me?"

* * *

><p>AN: YOU GUYS. I'M SUCH A TROLL LOLOL.  
>I dont' know why it's so nescessary to do these things to the poor girl, but I really do hope you guys are enjoying it.<br>(Also, you have about four chapters until the REALLY good stuff HNGlakdfjaldkfjads. I can't wait for you to read it. And the chapter after that. Yes. Sex. Good.)  
>Well, it's going on 2 a.m., so I'll leave you to it! Leave me a hello, okay? 8D<br>Love to the peoples!


	23. Broken

A/N: Rape and and teensy bit of violence in this one.

* * *

><p>Kyouya didn't seem terribly inclined towards tea at the moment. "I think it goes without saying that I'll have to cancel our outing." He still clutched tightly at his phone, as if waiting for the call to come already. He stood again. "I have to do something."<p>

"Wait, Kyouya!" Tamaki moaned, "I can help!"

"Fine." He didn't care. Anything, at this point. He just needed Haruhi by his side. "Then help." He hastened out to his car.

Tamaki ran after him. He at least needed some company, and Tamaki could do that. Even if he couldn't help any other way.

Kyouya instructed the driver to take him along the route Haruhi probably would have taken home. He didn't know exactly what he expected to find, but... he had to do something.

Tamaki watched closely. "Kyouya! Is that her phone?" He pointed at the sidewalk.

He shouted for the driver to stop. He jumped out of the car to inspect the discarded cellphone. "He must be close by," He muttered aloud.

Tamaki looked over Kyouya's shoulder to see the offending phone. "So... she was kidnapped. For sure."

"I can't imagine she would just lose her phone," He replied. Everything she owned seemed to hold a special importance to her. He called his police force once more to update them on the location, and order them to assemble and fan out from there. He hung up. "Come on."

Tamaki stared at the phone, now tightly gripped in his friend's hand. "We'll find her, Kyouya. Your police can do anything." He wondered if he should call the others.

"I'm sure they can." Even so, he continued onward, working on a hunch. He never did that.

A few blocks away, he knew, was a hotel. Not the nice kind of businessman's hotels. This was a hotel where a man would take a whore. It sounded just right for Kuretate's interests.

Everything, everything had come back in a rush. What it was like to be staring death in the face, what hate looked like, how stupid she really was. He screamed at her, kicking her again and again, but she could only block it out numbly. Kyouya-Senpai was almost like a dream; a nice fantasy, but now she was back where she belonged. She'd forgotten that slaves don't sleep in beds, or look anyone in the eye, or wear nice clothes. Or cry. That was the hardest. The pain was coming in from all sides, but she knew worse things were coming. His boots were sharp, her mind noted lethargically. Maybe she would just die right here, at the hands of Master, and the dreams of normalcy would die with her. Senpai would find a nice, _normal_ girl to marry, and forget all about her.

Kyouya stormed into the hotel, oblivious to who might have seen, who might talk, what kind of trouble he might be getting himself into. He had only one thought, one person in mind.

He marched up the reception desk. "What room is Arai in?" His tone implied that he was not to be led on.

The receptionist smirked. "Threesomes are an extra cost, sir. Can you pay in cash?" She glanced at the pretty blonde boy trailing behind him. "Actually, groups are even more. Although if you want to pay me personally..." She winked.

Haruhi hadn't been taken since before Senpai. Now, with her legs spread wide and Master leering over her, she felt dirtier than ever. She couldn't stop him. But it felt so _wrong_ this time. She closed her eyes, wishing for it to be over, for him to get tired, for Senpai to never have come. If he'd never shown her otherwise, this wouldn't be so HARD. She mewled in pain as he began, pushing into her without warning.

"You tell me now and I won't report this establishment for profiting from prostitution." He replied, his voice low and dangerous.

Her eyes grew wide. "312. There are stairs that way." She pointed quickly.

Kyouya took off madly, too flustered to even think of asking for the spare key. He climbed the stairs two, sometimes three steps at a time, his feet never stopping for longer than it took to force himself up. He located the room, delivering a harsh kick to the door.

She heard a bang, but it didn't register. She was holding onto the sheets tightly, willing herself to be _anywhere_ but here.

Kuretate, however, did notice. "What the crap, man?" He motioned. "I'm kinda in the middle of... someone." He smirked.

Kyouya bolted forward in a fit of rage. Forgetting all of his well trained manners, his subtle skills of manipulation, and just how to be a human being in general, he vaulted himself at the man, all but ripping him away from Haruhi's prone form. He went for the throat.

"DUDE!" He thrashed violently, "WHATDYA-" He coughed, "WANT?" His voice strained.

Haruhi hadn't opened her eyes, still locked in her own mind, unsure of why Master had stopped, but too afraid to check. He was probably getting ready for something different, worse.

"I want you. To stay away. From Haruhi," he replied. "Tamaki. If you would call the proper authorities, I believe we have a kidnapper on our hands."

Tamaki was awestruck in the doorway. They'd been-

But Haruhi was-

He colored madly, tearing his eyes away and pulling out his phone. "On it."

Kuretate put up his hands. "Whoa, whoa, dude. I dunno who the crap 'Haruhi' is, unless it's this whore," he jabbed his thumb at the bed, "But I paid good money for that." He crossed his arms. "I ain't done nothin' wrong. Plus, I think she's knocked up, and that's my kid in there!"

"She is _n__ot_ a whore," Kyouya replied. "And I don't give a damn who gave her that child, it belongs to her now."

Kuretate stepped up closer to the kid. (Because, really, he was much bigger than this stupid squirt) "_That_ is _my_ whore. So yeah, dude, she kinda is." He'd been drunk when he sold her, like a lot of other important times in his life, so he had no idea he was wrong.

Kyouya's senses were beginning to return to him. Logically, picking a fight with this thug was a bad idea. "I'm afraid you're mistaken. You sold her quite some time ago. If you'd really like to call legal rights in an illegal practice, she belongs to me now." He stepped forward, nearly toe-to-toe with him. "And I'll say it again: She is not a whore."

"Kyouya, the police are on the way." Tamaki waved his phone around, hoping they wouldn't start hitting each other.

Haruhi moved a bit on the bed, unsure of where she was, floating in her own dreams. "Senpai," she cried softly, her naked form retracting on itself.

"It's alright, Haruhi," Kyouya called, not daring to break the staring spell with the larger man. "I'm here for you. Just give me a moment to take care of things, alright?"

She moaned again, her subconscious assuming it was a trick by Arai to make her feel secure.

Arai was still horrendously angry, (they'd interrupted right in the middle, dude!), but backed off at the mention of the police. "I'll leave. But that kid's mine." He stormed out of the room, pushing Tamaki into the wall on his way out. "Outta the way, Sparkles."

In hindsight, he should have stopped him. He should have hunted him down and made sure he wasn't coming back. But right now, there was something more important. He ran to Haruhi's side, wrapping her in the scratchy old blanket. "Haruhi. Can you hear me?"

She shuddered, pushing away from the voice. Everything was muddled, and she was still expecting the worst at any moment now. But he'd broken her. Again. She was crying quietly, eyes clenched shut and unwilling to compromise. He'd made her cry when she'd been so determined not to.

Slowly, as softly as he could, he pulled her into his arms. "I'm sorry," he whispered in her ear. "It's over now, Haruhi. You're safe again. I'm sorry..."

The hands, everywhere. She struggled uncomprehendingly against whatever was touching her because she didn't hear Master anymore, which meant this person shouldn't be touching her. She whimpered. "Please...," she cried, hanging her head. Master would be so disappointed in her. No wait, Master would beat her. Who was disappointed in her?

"Haruhi, look at me," he whispered, stroking tenderly at her hair. "It's me, Haruhi. I'm here to take you home."

She opened her eyes, extremely hesitant. If Master was still here, and she accidentally looked at him, he would beat her. It was strange, then, to see a familiarly colored jacket. "Senpai...?" She didn't want to believe it. In those horrible moments with Master, there hadn't been a Kyouya Ootori, and he couldn't possibly be real. Never.

"That's right," he soothed. "I'm here now. You're safe."  
>She drew her eyes to his, worried it was a lie, but his eyes were so soft. "Senpai!" Her arms flew around him, afraid he might disappear, he might turn into Master somehow. "Senpai..." Her head leaned tiredly on his chest, tears running freely.<p>

He stroked her back, whispering to her whatever comforting things he could muster. "You're alright. I'm here to protect you. He's gone."

"I-I-I-" She took a shuddering breath. "He took me, Senpai." Her voice broke. "I'm sorry. So sorry."

"This isn't your fault," he replied firmly. "Don't you dare blame yourself for this. You're just perfect."

That did it. She began sobbing, clutching at him desperately. "I just want-" she choked out, "-to go home. Please go home?"

"Of course, Haruhi," he said. He lifted her up from the filthy bed. "Let's go home."

She held onto him with everything she had, leaning her head against his shoulder. She'd done it again. He'd had to come to rescue her, and he'd had plans with Tamaki-Senpai. Just another instance where she interrupted his life dramatically. She cried, wishing she was stronger. Wishing she could have fought back.

Tamaki reappeared, blushing at the scene they made, with Haruhi only in a blanket. "Kyouya, I paid. We're free to go." He smiled gently at Haruhi. She looked so helpless. "Hello, Haruhi." He might as well foot the bill. He didn't have as much riding on his future as Kyouya did.

"I'll pay you back," Kyouya said, his voice exhausted and perhaps a little numb. "Thank you." He continued to carry her to the car. A safe place.

Haruhi couldn't process anything anymore. She hurt _everywhere._ And she knew it would be worse in the morning, but right now she tried to concentrate on what _now _was. With Senpai. And maybe, just maybe, the nightmare was over.

Kyouya stayed quiet as he tucked her into the car. He turned to face Tamaki briefly. "I suppose you deserve an explanation after that."

Tamaki stood, blank-faced. He wasn't sure what to think, but he knew that he still trusted Kyouya. "Only if you think you need to." He shifted, the whole thing replaying in his mind, embarrassingly, over and over again.

After all of that, oddly, he felt he_ needed_ to get this off his chest. He needed to know that he was doing the right thing, the right way. He needed... help. "Get in. I'll take you home."

Tamaki nodded slowly, getting in and giving Haruhi a wide berth. She was still... undressed under that blanket, wasn't she? He waited for Kyouya to get in, staying quiet so he could talk when he was ready.

Kyouya paused to collect himself after entering the car. He was shaking again, he realized. Stress, anger, sorrow. This was a lot of emotion for him to just shove aside like he always did. He just needed to get through this conversation.

"Haruhi was sold into slavery as a child," he finally began, still stroking gently at her tousled hair. "She'd been through quite a lot by the time I finally stumbled upon her. I don't know why I did it... but I bought her on the spot. I took her as my responsibility."

Why?

Tamaki's eyes widened in shock and horror at the thought of sweet, kind, _blunt _Haruhi as someone's... ugh, _property._ "Kyouya," he breathed, wishing he could comfort them both, somehow, "You saved her, then. Before you... back there... that was her life?"

He laced his trembling fingers, willing them to stop. It wasn't working so well. "You could say that, yes."

Tamaki watched her sleeping form for a moment. "So what does that mean for today? Why did that man..." he hated to phrase it like this, "take her like that?" He meant the kidnapping, of course, "If you own her now?" He tried not to let disgust show in his voice. He just couldn't imagine anything as horrible as being _owned._ His poor, neglected, abused, wonderful, princess.

"So far as my background check has shown, the man is known for making rash decisions while intoxicated," Kyouya replied. "I can only assume he thought that he still owned her. Or that the man I purchased her from stole her."

Tamaki shivered. That brute had owned her? He pursed his lips. No wonder she loved Kyouya so much. (It wasn't as hard to use the 'L' word when he knew what Haruhi had... been through) "Kyouya," he probed quietly, "How have you been? This _must_ be stressful for you."

He allowed his head to rest in his hand. "It has," he finally admitted. "But it's nothing I can't manage." He wasn't dead yet, after all.

Tamaki's eyes softened. "Mon ami. You need time for yourself, too. Do you care for yourself?" He could only imagine the strain Kyouya took daily. "You'll be nothing for Haruhi, nothing for your father, nothing for your schoolwork, if you're not taking care of yourself." He reached over, putting his hand on his shoulder gently.

"Of course," he replied hollowly. He had, hadn't he? After all, he _wanted_ her to be safe. Being with her made him happy, didn't it? So wasn't it all worth it? He thought so. "Things have just been a bit... chaotic in the last few days."

Of course. Poor guy. He didn't ask _why_ Haruhi had been sold, especially so young, or press him for details. It wasn't important now. He put his arm across his friend's shoulder, not expecting him to respond at all. "If you need any help, you know I'll be right here for you, right? I love you, and Haruhi. Whatever you need."

"Thank you," he replied. Of course, there really wasn't much the man could do for him. Haruhi was nearly possessively stuck to him, and the only other issue he had to deal with was his father... Still, it was nice to know that he still cared after all of this deception.

They'd found Tamaki's house, and before he got out he said, "She'll be fine. Don't worry." He put his hand on Kyouya's knee for a second, trying to be reassuring.

How could he be sure? He'd finally begun to earn her trust and now he'd broken his promise to protect her. How could she possibly be okay? But then... he sounded so sure... Kyouya wanted to believe him... He almost did.

"I'm sure she will," he replied.

Tamaki knew Kyouya wasn't sure, but time healed everything, right? It soothed the pain, at least. He knew that personally. "See you tomorrow," he said, not even sure if that would happen, but Kyouya needed order right now. He needed it.

"Yeah," Kyouya replied. "Good night."

Alone with Haruhi again, he let out a heavy, unsteady sigh. What was he going to do now?

She stirred in her restless sleep, interrupted by nightmares this time. She began thrashing, feeling so _restricted_ and in_ pain_, moaning in protest as the monsters in her mind came at her, again and again.

Kyouya reach over to put a hand on her head once more. "Haruhi. It's alright."

It took a moment for the dreams to unstick themselves, but finally she groaned, opening her eyes. "Senpai?" Everything hurt. "Safe?"

"Yes, Haruhi. You're safe," he replied. He slid a little closer to her. "I'm here."

She hiccuped. "I hurt." Everything was aching, making it uncomfortable to even sit.

"I know," he replied softly. "But you'll be alright. I'll take care of everything."

They were almost home, but it couldn't come soon enough for her. "Master said... stupid. So stupid." She laid a hand on her belly softly. "For having the baby."

"His words mean nothing to you," he whispered. "Because he's not your master. You have no master, Haruhi."

A sob caught in her throat. "He said-" She wrapped her fingers around Senpai's arm. "But Senpai said I'm not a whore." Her voice was cracking and strained. "Why does he hate me, Senpai?"

"Because he's an uneven man," Kyouya replied bitterly. "Nothing he says is true."

She coughed violently, wondering how much damage all the kicking had done to her body. "I want-" She tried to bring up enough breath to speak. "I want my baby to be just like you, Senpai."

Wait, what? A cold, manipulative person like him? She must still be feeling woozy. Still... it was quite flattering. He'd never received a compliment quite like that.

"Thank you, Haruhi," he said quietly, not sure what else to say.

She watched the house grow in the window distantly, feeling dirty, literally this time. She needed a bath desperately. Being covered in... filth from the place, was disgusting. She let go of Senpai like a hot ember when she realized how dirty she was getting him. "I'm sorry," she mumbled drowsily, noticing the blood she'd gotten on his jacket.

"Don't be," he replied. It wasn't as though he couldn't wash it off. "Are you well enough to walk?"

She nodded, though she wasn't really sure. She let herself be helped out of the car, but found her legs to be extremely shaky, not to mention how sore her hips were. It felt as if she'd been run over by a truck.

But Kyouya was there to take hold of her. She was in no condition to walk. He scooped her off her feet. He carried her, quietly to his bedroom. He set her down on the bed. "I'll draw a bath for you. Hold on a minute."

She knew he was treating her like a princess, even if she felt like scum. The blanket around her was beginning to get more and more uncomfortable, and she couldn't help but wonder if Master had given her some kind of drug while she'd been there. He had tested different ones on her, before. She wiggled in the blanket, forgetting where Senpai was and wanting him to come back _now._

It didn't take him long before he returned to her. "Your bath is ready," he said quietly. He did hope she could take things from here. He was more than sure that a man helping her bathe was the last thing she needed right now.

She pulled herself up slowly, dizziness and pain shooting through her as she did. Before today, she would have been comfortable enough asking for help to stand, but now she was leaning on her training like a crutch, no matter how kind Senpai was being. She struggled up, each step feeling like a bolt of electricity through her legs. "Th-thank you," she said, wishing those words could mean _more_. Senpai deserved more.

He reached out, offering her a hand. He could at least help her to the appropriate room.

She took it gratefully, wobbling to the bathroom, now glad that she only wore the blanket. She could only imagine how painful socks would be to take off. She looked at the bathtub, though, wondering how to get in. She dropped the blanket unceremoniously, not even thinking of Senpai still in the room, and tried to find a way to get her leg up high enough to at least straddle the tub.

Kyouya lowered his gaze to the floor. "Will you be alright by yourself?" he asked.

She sighed, trying to hoist herself up by her forearms. Finally, she slumped against the porcelain. "Maybe I should take a bath tomorrow." Tonight just seemed to be too hard.

"Here." Kyouya kept his gaze on a single wall tile on the south wall. He moved to help her off the floor, at the very least.

Even with how gentle he was being, everything hurt. It ached and throbbed and stung and kept drawing her mind back to _why_ she hurt. She tried to not show the distress, but a tiny bit came anyway, causing her hand to clutch at his arm while she slid down into the soothing water. She sighed, wondering why her eye hurt, murmuring, "Thank you."

"Mm." Kyouya kept his voice low, soothing. He positioned himself behind her. He filled his hands with warm water, and allowed it to flow down her back. He did this several times, before reaching for the body wash.

She'd closed her eyes in contentment before she realized what was happening. "Senpai," she croaked, voice still hoarse from crying, "Don't. I can do it."

It was always a balancing act. Was she saying that because it was supposed to be beneath him, or because she was uncomfortable with him being there?

"Is that what you want?"

Well, no. Even after everything that had happened today, she still craved his touches, no matter how business-like they were. Voice cracking, she said, "It's my job to take care of myself. And you gave me plenty of time to bathe today, so you shouldn't have to help me now that it's late." She knew it wasn't true; how could she have had time? But it felt better to blame herself. More natural.

He placed a soft hand on her shoulder, still warm from the bath water. "Haruhi. I want to help."

She paused, considering that, how he could just be weaving a beautiful lie, then decided she could care about that later, reaching up to cover his hand with her own. "Okay."

He left his hand there for her. With his free hand, he scrubbed at her back with a drop of body wash. He worked slowly, methodically, but something about the way he moved... It was caring in a way he was normally afraid to show.

Being so exposed in front of Senpai was different. She was relaxed, content, even when she knew how weak she was now, how easy it would be for him to break her tonight. She sighed, the movement so soft, so soothing. Had he always been this tender? Or maybe being away from him just magnified how lucky she was to be with him. A tear slipped off her chin. Her hand tightened around his, just slightly.

He could hear her crying. He could feel it in the way her muscles trembled under him. He felt that words would only make things worse here. He simply tightened his grip on her shoulder, touching his forehead to the back of her head. Everything would be okay, he told himself again.

The quiet sob was stifled quickly, honestly believing Senpai wouldn't like it if she cried too much, (no matter what he'd done in the past, Arai had torn some of those rebuilt walls back down; and rebuilding them _again_ would take some time). Words weren't really necessary, and she was finding it hard to talk. But softly, so low she could barely hear herself, she whispered, "So gentle with me."

Because really, what would possess _anyone_ to be so kind to someone so inferior? Especially when it seemed as if they weren't in it for a reward.

He rubbed her shoulder tenderly with his thumb. "You deserve to be treated well," he replied. It was a basic human right... but he knew he wasn't going to get that through to her.

She looked down at her body through the water, catching the light and skewing her proportions massively, wondering why Arai-sama had come back. Not that it mattered; he hated her, and was better than her, so he had every right.

But Senpai was here now. She leaned into his touch shyly. She'd felt guilty the whole time she'd been with Master, and now under Senpai's doting care, she remembered why.

He slid his around around her to scrub at her belly, being very careful where his hand moved. The last thing he needed was to trigger her right now. Once that was finished, he simply sat with her a while, his arms wrapped around her.

At first she could hold it all in, but little by little, his reassurances were breaking through. Her shoulders began shaking lightly with the pressure, drawing her body closer to his embrace, hunching her shoulders in so they could slide under his chin. Why were there people that simply hated her so much to put her through such agony? If Senpai wasn't lying, that-

That meant-

A sob caught in her throat, swishing the thoughts around in her head so she lost her place. It was then that she began crying in earnest, hands coming up to wrap around Senpai's arms, as if he were the last life saver on a sinking ship.

Kyouya was no good with sincere, gentle words. All he could do was kneel there, and hug her tighter. It was a horrible world out there, and he couldn't change that. He only hoped he could change her.

When the wave of tears had subsided, she sniffed, (pathetically), and squeezed his arms before letting go of them. "Thank you, Senpai," she said rigidly, reverting back to her old habits, but the words were weighted. Thank you for saving me again, probably. She just couldn't force all of that out.

He nuzzled the back of her neck. "Of course," he whispered back.

She fell quiet again, letting the bath work it's magic on her weathered, tired, body tonight. Thank goodness he was still here, or otherwise she might not have stayed awake long enough to get out.

He wasn't sure how long they were in there, but at some point, he realized, it had been too long. There was still much to be done. He still needed to call Arai-San... "Haruhi? Are you ready for bed?"

She woke up drowsily, having been so lulled by his embrace, and nodded. She yawned sleepily.

He carefully helped her out of the tub, quickly finding her a towel and a simple robe to switch into.

Her muscles felt better, at least. And the robe was probably better than her pajama pants anyway; she couldn't imagine wearing elastic around her tender hips right now. She yawned again, reaching for his arm. "Can I sleep with you, Senpai?" she asked, tired eyes looking up to him.

"Of course you can," he said softly. "Do you feel up to reading tonight?"

She smiled, leaning on him heavily as they made their way to the bed. "That sounds nice." Even though she was practically asleep right now. It really did sound good though, so she blinked rapidly, trying to look more awake.

He helped her to lower herself onto the bed, and pulled up the covers for her. He seated himself on the edge of the bed, lifting the book. He cracked it open and, giving her one last soft glance, began to read.

She wanted to listen, she really had, but it only took a moment for Senpai's soothing voice to mix with her exhaustion and drift her off into sleep. Pity, too. It had sounded like a good chapter.

It didn't take him long to realize that she was asleep. He closed the book quietly, and lifted himself off of the bed. He still had several calls to make tonight. He started with Arai.

Hiro had been apprehensive all evening. The only thing he knew for sure was that Kuretate wasn't home yet. So when his phone rang, he answered it on the second ring. "Hello? Ootori?"

"Speaking," he replied. "You should know that Haruhi was found a few hours ago. We're not yet sure where Kuretate is, but a search is being carried out."

He sighed in relief. "Ootori, I'm so glad you found her. Is she okay? What did he do this time?" He asked the question with much practice; he knew what his brother was capable of.

Kyouya paused, glancing at his bedroom door behind him, with poor Haruhi behind it. "Unfortunately, we were unable to locate her in time to prevent-" He couldn't say it. There was too much disgust and anger in the words. "-Penetration. However, she seems to be in good physical health."

That gave Arai enough to go on, as he'd been the one to pick up the pieces before. Probably bruising, gashes, maybe a black eye. For some reason his brother loved using his pointy boots to their full potential. "That means a lot to hear, Ootori. Thanks for letting me know. You'll let me know if something changes?"

"Yes. And I expect you'll do me the same courtesy?" He adjusted his glasses. He should have gone after the man... He still wasn't sure why he didn't.

"As long as he's not around. To be honest, I have a lot to protect myself, Ootori. But I'll do my best!" He paused, wondering if he'd said too much. "And Ootori? She bruises really bad. You probably knew that, but it'll all start showing up tomorrow.. and my brother's ruthless. Just... be careful."

"I intend to be," he replied. "Watch yourself." He hung up.

He leaned against the door, the exhaustion of the day catching up to him. He still had to check in with his police force, as well as contact the authorities with details for the case. And of course, call the school to contrive yet another reason for them to stay home tomorrow. He was up very late that night. He barely had the energy to wrap his arms around Haruhi before passing right out.

She slept dreamlessly, a quiet reminder of what things could be accomplished when you had the time to recover. She awoke a few times in the morning, much too content with Senpai's arms around her to get up. She turned, facing his chest now, and fell back asleep. She'd never been so peaceful after one of Arai-sama's... sessions.

Kyouya had shut the alarms off last night. She needed her rest today. Oddly, he found himself awakening at his accustomed time, anyways. Still. No rush to move. He stayed there for her, for as long as she needed.

She'd been hoping that, somehow, extra time might make it easier to get up, leave his protective embrace, but no. It had almost made it harder. She nuzzled his chest, taking a handful of his shirt and turning onto her back. "Good morning," she said quietly, unsure if he was actually awake yet or not.

"Good morning," he replied through a yawn. "I hope you slept well."

She was beyond sore, and she probably looked like she'd contracted some kind of disease on her stomach and legs, but her rest had been surprisingly good. "Yes, thank you. For, um, everyth..." She trailed off, leaving her word hanging. Absently, she wondered if normal people put something on bruises like she had. To be honest, she wasn't even sure if any of her injuries had bled. The whole ordeal was a bit fuzzy, like looking at something through a bubble.

"You're welcome." He said once more. He hoped that one day, they would be beyond the point of cycling through 'thank yous' and 'you're welcomes' for everything. He wanted a good life to become normal to her.

She'd snuggled closer to him, if that were possible, and realized into his chest, "It's school time, Senpai! You've got to get going!" Oh crap. She should have woken him up, shouldn't she? It had been her responsibility, and she'd made him late. Great.

Kyouya rolled over onto his back. "Don't worry, Haruhi. I've had everything taken care of. We're staying home today."

That gave her room to lay on him properly. She did so, wondering at him and replied, "Thank you. But you don't have to on my account." She chuckled quietly, heart not in it. "I've done much harder things than rest after similar encounters, Senpai." Like have another one. She left that one alone, though.

"I know I don't have to," he replied. He wanted to. "I've already had things taken care of."

She hummed. She'd been about to suggest more dancing lessons, then remembered the state of her body. "Thank you, then. What would you like to do today then, Senpai?" It was obvious that she was up to anything he suggested. (Even if it was more taxing than she could stand)

"I thought perhaps I could teach you how to handle money." He hoped that doing something intellectual and normal might take her mind off of things.

She brightened. _That_ sounded extremely helpful. "Alright," she affirmed, thankful for something so innocent. "Then I can pay at school correctly?"

"Indeed." Perhaps one day he would start giving her an allowance. As counterintuitive as that was to her paying him back, he felt she needed practice before entering the real world. He reached for his wallet on the night stand, pulling out a few bills and coins for her to look at.

She leaned in for a closer look. She recognized some of what he was holding from her adventures in the lunch room. Pointing at one of the bills, she commented, "That's the one the lunch lady gave me."

Kyouya began sorting the money, starting with smaller change and working his way up to the large bills.

"Now, currency is a simple math system. Once you understand which coins are what number, it becomes a simple matter of addition and subtraction. You seem to do that well enough."

She nodded, absently running her fingers along the coins. She picked up the larger bill, asking, "Senpai, so how many of these am I worth?" She knew it had to be a lot.

He did a quick, simple calculation. "About eight hundred," he replied. Disregarding, of course, the value of human life, and her importance to him.

She nodded, holding it up, as if it would spill its secrets to her. "Eight hundred," she repeated, trying to remember if she'd actually _seen_ Senpai hand over so many of the papers. "So how many of these would it take to buy a uniform?" She couldn't quite remember how many parts of her own school uniform she'd ruined, but it had to be substantial by now.

"Thirty," he replied. "An average meal from he lunchroom will cost about two of these." He lifted two of the smaller bills, setting them aside. "If your meal costs eighteen hundred yen, you would give her two of these bills, and she would give you-" He set aside two silver-colored coins. "Two of these."

Her head was swimming a bit, but she thought she understood. "How much do I make at the Host Club?"

He picked up a few more of the thousand-yen notes. "About six of these a day," he replied, handing them to her so she could feel them and hopefully understand better.

She did a quick calculation, amazed that even with so much a day, how long it would take her still to pay off her debt. "Ah." She frowned at the bills. Money was such a bother.

"Now, these are one-yen coins. You probably won't be using these much, but they do add up." He pushed the small pile of coins aside. "From there, there are 5-yen coins, ten-yen, fifty, and one hundred." He spoke quietly, pushing each pile aside as he went over it.

It was beginning to make more sense. The little coins could add up into bigger ones, right? And the same went for the bills. Suddenly she wondered, "Senpai, how much money do you make?" She looked up at him from the stacks.

"Not much more than you do," he said as he busied himself with counting out a few bills. "I'm also granted a monthly allowance, though I am encouraged not to spend it."

"Hm." She glanced back at the piles of money. It seemed like such a hassle, no matter who you were. Arai-Sama certainly hadn't liked money very much. Or at least, he hadn't had much of it. "What do normal people spend money on?"

"Everyday things. Food, clothes, utilities and such. Although quite of few of them seem to enjoy wasting it on frivolities, as well."

She thought about that, wondering what kind of jobs were considered normal, (as she certainly didn't know), and then shrugged. "I guess that makes sense. My Dad, too?"

"I hardly know what your father does with his money. I'm sure most of it goes towards maintaining his apartment," he replied. He knew a few things about her father, but mostly he left him to his own devices.

"Oh." Of course. Senpai didn't know everything. Though _that_ was hard to believe sometime. "What else do I need to know?" She felt a lot more confident with the topic, in any case.

"That should cover all of the basics," he replied. "Just make sure to watch prices. Consider how much you have, and how much you would be willing to part with."

She nodded, pooling the coins together to gather in her hands. "I don't mean to change the subject, but do normal people treat bruises, Senpai?" She held out the coins, a bit embarrassed by the question. After all, she'd dealt with bruising before.

"Only if they swell," he replied. "I'll have a few ice packs brought up, if you'd like."

She put a hand up to her eye, wondering if it looked as bad as it felt. "I think I'll be fine," she snorted sarcastically. "I think somebody should tell him that it's impolite to punch girls, though."

"I'm certain he'll hear plenty of that in prison." Rapists often got a special place in jail, as he understood it. "Well, now that we're done with that, you should be having breakfast." He began gathering up the carefully sorted bills and slipping them back into his wallet.

She'd never considered prison for him. Was it technically rape? Well, maybe now that she didn't belong to him. She waited for Senpai to stand before she slid off the bed. "Okay." She wasn't terribly hungry, but she might as well. She was eating for two, after all.

Breakfast was, as usual, brought promptly after his call.

"Perhaps you and I should go out somewhere today," he said quite suddenly. Sitting around inside all day wouldn't be good for her. "If you're feeling better by the afternoon."

She sipped her tea thoughtfully, wondering how bad she would look out in public. "Alright. If you think it's okay. Where should we go?"

"I thought perhaps the mall," he replied. "You need some practical experience with money, after all."

Hm. The mall? "Alright." What did one wear to the mall? "I can help you pick out something nice for yourself then, eh?"

"Actually, I'd like you to pick out a few decent outfits for yourself," he replied. "I can't have you borrowing from Fuyumi's closet every time you need to be presentable."

She colored, frowning, her assumption somewhere along the lines of Senpai being annoyed at her constant need of _things_. "If that's what you want, alright." She sipped her tea, her head ducked.

"It is," he replied. Admittedly, a part of him liked the idea of spoiling her with gorgeous things. A woman of her intellect deserved the finer things in life, after all. Still, he needed to control his impulses. This was for practical purposes only.

She finished her breakfast quietly, her stomach much more grateful for the food than she thought it would be. "That was good," she commented, finishing her tea. "Thank you, Senpai."

He finished off the rest of his tea, as well. "You're welcome," he replied again. "How are you feeling now?"

As good as it was gonna get, at least today. She smiled softly, thinking how much more Senpai would be able to get away with, and she would still adore him. "Very well, thank you." She looked at the robe she'd slept in. "What should I wear out?"

"I'm sure Fuyumi wouldn't mind us borrowing a few more things," he replied. It wouldn't do to skip school and run about in uniform, would it?

She nodded, putting down her cup and standing. "Alright. Give me a second, I'll go change, then."

"Don't rush," he replied. He didn't want her to tire herself out again before they even left the house.

She found the room easily this time, digging through the boxes until she found what she thought to be appropriate 'casual' clothes. She changed slowly, as she was still extremely sore, and found herself struggling immensely with the pants.

She'd already slipped on a T-shirt and summer dress, but the pants she'd found to go underneath weren't cooperating. Or maybe it was her body that wasn't. Either way, she couldn't figure out how to get them on. As her hips nearly died every time she tried to do _anything_ new with them, she had to concede, carrying her robe and pants back to Senpai's room. Maybe he would have a suggestion. And it wasn't like the dress wasn't long enough as it was.

He'd finished changing shortly before she arrived. Oh. Such a simple outfit seemed to suit her so very well. "That's perfect."

Oh, okay. She set down the other things on the couch. Senpai had changed, too. "You, too. I mean, um, are you ready?" She flushed slightly, busying herself with finding shoes.

He grinned a little, pretending not to hear that. It might be awkward if he started believing she had feelings for him again. And painful. "I am."

She slipped into some sandals, and hurried over to join him. Smiling up to him, she took his hand gently. How she'd gotten so lucky was a mystery to her. "What do you want to look for, Senpai?"

"Just a few outfits," he replied. "A few casual ones for the week, and a couple of formal ones. Those seem to be in demand for you as of late." It felt kind of shameful that he had yet to buy her a proper wardrobe.

She'd meant for him, of course, "Formal. For seeing your father again?"

"We're shopping for you today, remember?" He opened the car door for her. "I've got enough clothes for the time being."

She slid in carefully, trying not to upset her muscles, and wondered absently why he'd dodged the question. "Yes, Senpai," she said, thinking how anyone else would have only taken her out to buy clothes at scanty places like lingerie stores, or perhaps worse. Although, it didn't sound so hateful with Senpai, now. She pulled her legs up onto the seat, so she could curl up against his shoulder.

He slid an arm around her after climbing into the car. He picked through his wallet. There wasn't enough here for their needs. He would normally have charged it all, but part of this _was_ to teach her to count money. He had the chauffeur stop briefly at the bank before they finally arrived at the mall.

Haruhi had never seen anywhere as big as this place. Her eyes widened in amazement as they pulled up, her hand instinctively reaching for his. "This whole place is a store?" she asked, wondering at the huge complex.

"Technically, it's a large number of smaller stores," he corrected. "But, yes, this is a shopping mall."

She watched it, half-amazed that this was considered _normal._ (For the rich kids at Ouran, yes, but this was mostly meant for commoners?) The car pulled to a stop. "You'll have to lead the way," she said, tearing her eyes from the huge building.

He thought as much. He helped her out of the car, leading her through the automated doors and into a whole other world. There were hundreds of people milling busily about, dozens of conversations from every direction, salesmen shouting their pitches through the halls. It was chaos.

This wasn't Kyouya's preferred venue, but buried beneath all of the mass produced, low-end chain stores, there were a few diamonds. He led her to one such store.

As shy of large crowds as she was, the mall wasn't a terribly... comfortable place for her. But Haruhi trusted Senpai, so she let him lead her through the masses meekly. They entered one of the stores, (one of the _dozens_ of stores), which was quite a bit quieter and easier to handle. She'd been overloaded out in the common space, but here she regained herself, looking around curiously. "What should we look at first, Senpai?"

He took her hand, placing a few crisp bills into it. "That is up to you," he said. "Just be mindful of your budget."

Her immediate reaction was to fist the money, afraid of losing it, but instead she folded the bills carefully, counting how much he'd given her. Once they were tucked away in her pocket, she looked up at him, smiling shyly. "But you'll still help, please? Come on." It felt so natural to take his hand and pull him to the shelves and racks of items, holding random ones up to herself, even laughing a bit at some of his reactions. Like they were normal teenagers.

Clothing wasn't his strong suit, or even of particular interest to him. But, somehow, she made it fun. Just being with her was cathartic, in a way. And she seemed happy, too. Good. He had been starting to miss her smile.

She'd collected a stack of things she liked, finally letting go of him, and wondered what was next. "Do we buy these now?" she asked, unsure if they would fit or not. Not like she wasn't used to stripping, but she didn't think Senpai would approve in this instance.

"Not yet," he said. He placed his hand on the small of her back, guiding her toward the dressing room. He wondered if the people around thought they were a couple. Wouldn't that be rich?

Her skin heated under his touch, letting him guide her willingly. Oh, like at club, huh? "I try these on back there?" she asked, trying not to imagine him following her in and ravishing her ever so quietly, so no one would ever know. "Will you stay close?" At least to tell her if he didn't like her selections.

"I'll be right out here," he replied. He turned around, waiting quietly for her to finish up.

She tried on the casual things she'd found, modeling the summer dresses one at a time. He was being very patient; she couldn't imagine this being quite his cup of tea.

Kyouya was very honest about what worked and didn't work, though for the most part, he allowed her to choose what she liked. He gave her occasional reminders to keep an eye on her spending, as well. She seemed to be staying within her budget. Understandable, she was a sensible woman after all.

Once she'd weeded out that set, she turned to the formal gear. She had two fitted suits and two formal dresses, as she didn't want there to be _any_ reason for her to miss attending the charity ball with Senpai. Saving the best, (or worse, in any case), for last, she tried on the suits first. She exited the fitting room, completely unsure of the first. "It fits perfectly," she said, looking at it, but she didn't know how long skirts were supposed to be for normal outfits, (not fantasy costumes), and tugged at it. "What do you think?"

He tilted his head, stroking his chin. It suited her so well. One might think she was born into nobility. "Very nice choice," he replied.

She smiled, deciding to omit trying the second one on, and turned to the dresses. She shivered. She could barely imagine _touching _these, much less wearing or even owning one. She ran her fingers along the first one, quickly hanging up the suit and unzipping the dress carefully. As she slowly slipped herself into the thing, she breathed out, calming herself. She wouldn't ruin this dress. And especially not because she was just _existing_ in it. Once zipped, she opened the curtain. "I, uh... What do you think?"

He did little to hide the grin that crept across his face. It was so very different for her, but it only made her lovelier that way.

"You look wonderful," he admitted. Platonically.

She looked over herself worriedly. "You don't think it's too revealing?" She fingered the collar for a moment. "And it kind of hugs my hips, is that bad?" She'd worn the cosplay before at club, but this kind of thing was absolutely new territory. And Senpai _did_ have final call on anything regarding her body and how it was presented, right?

"Are you comfortable?" he asked. "It's a very flattering shape for you."

The compliment was much too kind, she was sure, but she nodded anyway. "I suppose. I've never worn anything like this before," she commented, running her hands over the material absently, before realizing what a stupid statement that was. Of course she hadn't. And he knew that. Stupid.

"It looks quite natural on you," he assured her. If only she had more opportunities for such attire.

She looked up at him, wondering _when_ she'd become so undesirable, then remembered the incident yesterday. Maybe before there'd been a blatant reminder of what she was, he might have been able to want her, at least a little bit, but she was _used_ now. Again. And this time, he'd witnessed it. She mumbled a quickly, "Okay, thank you," and went to take off the thing. It was beginning to feel heavy on her, like she wasn't supposed to be wearing it. (Which, of course, she wasn't.)

He continued to wait for her. It was almost sad, the fact that shopping with Haruhi was so much quicker than shopping with Tamaki.

She came out, the stack of casual clothes and suit in her arm. "Okay, I'm ready,"

"Very well." He replied. He led her to the checkout counter. "Do you have an idea of what to do?"

She'd carefully counted the costs up in the dressing room. "Yes. I think I've got it." She brought up the things to the counter, waiting for the friendly cashier to give her a total.

Kyouya stood back to watch. She seemed to be handling things well enough. He was proud of her. She could do this. She could be normal.

Haruhi shifted the bills back and forth between her hands, surprised to find how easy this was when you knew what you were doing. She even had an idea of what to expect back.

"Thank you, come again!"

Kyouya gave the cashier a polite smiling before taking Haruhi's hand. "Very good."

"Really?" She was glad to have his hand again. "Thank you." And you liked what I bought, right, Senpai? You don't think I'll look stupid? "I like what we found, too."

"We may just have to find an occasion for you to wear that suit of yours," he replied.

He had also hoped that this little exercise would stretch her independence and confidence a little. He still wasn't sure how well that was doing. She could be surprisingly hard to read at times.

She squeezed his hand lightly. "What now? Is there anywhere else you'd like to go?" They were here, after all. The money she saved on the dress was enough to get something for him, too.

He rarely spent much time out shopping like this, but somehow, he was reluctant to end it all. It was almost like a little date. "You've never been here, correct? Perhaps we should look around. Perhaps you'll find something else you'd like."

She smiled. "Alright. Or at least window shop if we don't." It was probably good that she was stretching her muscles in this fashion, at least.

"As you wish."

They walked close enough that his shoulder would occasional brush hers. Eventually, he let his fingers intertwine with hers once more. There was plenty here for her to see.

It was an overwhelming journey, to be sure, but each store seemed to hold anything and everything it bragged of. She saw plenty of things she thought he'd like, but one particular shop seemed to be calling her. "Do you mind if I go buy something on my own, Senpai?" She gave her most innocent expression, smiling shyly.

He wasn't sure he liked the idea of her being on her own with that Kuretate still prowling around. But, then, that was silly. This mall was absolutely packed. He couldn't do a thing without being seen. He just had to calm down.

"That's fine." He replied. "I'll wait for you right here.

She nodded, saying she wouldn't be long, and let go of him sighing. He just didn't seem to be interested. She got a bit lost in the shop though, eventually flagging down an associate to help her choose. Once she'd paid, (on her own!) she went back to find Senpai.

He was still waiting for her at the agreed upon spot. Admittedly, he'd started a little pacing waiting for her. Not of the nervous variety, per se... but perhaps a little concerned. He hid his relief at the sight of her. "How did you do?" He peered curiously at the bag in her hand.

She closed the bag, coloring. "Fine. I'm sorry I took so long." She didn't want him to see yet. "Did you do any shopping of your own?"

"I think I'm finished here." Keeping it a secret, eh? This was new. And interesting. "Are you?"

She laughed, holding up her change sheepishly. "I think so." She was starting to feel the day creep into her muscles, anyway.

"Hold onto that," he said, closing her hand around it. "You never know when you might need it." He motioned for her to follow him back out to the car.

She looked at her hand, happy to save anything in the way of money for him. She caught up with him, casually running her hand along his lower back. "Thank you for taking me," she said genuinely, trying not to let the groveling slip in. "I think I understand money now." At least reasonably so.

Her contact made his muscles tense. It always felt so warm, so sudden... and so guilty.

"Yes, you do seem to be picking it up quite well. I'm very proud of you."

Proud. How... pedestrian. (No, no. This was Kyouya. 'Proud' was a high compliment; She'd just been hoping for _something _else, though she didn't know what) They found the car waiting for them, and she waited until they'd gotten inside before she lay her hand on his thigh. "Would you like a bath when we get home, Senpai?"

He shivered. Okay. He was starting to understand. After that trauma, she was falling back on her training. Which meant they would have to go through that whole, painful learning process once again.

"I believe I have some homework from yesterday to finish up first." He hadn't exactly had the time for it last night.

She removed her hand like she'd touched a hot coal. "Oh. Okay." Homework was better than her now. Wait, he had said first, hadn't he? "So afterwards then?" She brushed the hair from her face slowly, letting her fingers linger.

"Perhaps," he replied. He fidgeted with his glasses a bit. Her self esteem was probably very low at the moment. An outright refusal could make her crash. But giving in to her advances could possibly be worse.

Okay. Fidgeting was good. Maybe she'd actually touched on something. She fell quiet, keeping her hands to herself as they rode home, but occasionally letting her knees bump him.

He was honestly quite glad when he was able to exit the car. He found himself wishing he had his own room to lock himself in... But that wouldn't do. He couldn't leave her alone right now.

He moved to his bedroom without much pause. Maybe she would fall asleep waiting for him to finish. That was the best way to deal with the situation.

She found the Pre-Med book, settling down on the new couch to wait for him. She wanted to make him happy, dang it. (Or at least prove to herself that she wasn't only desirable when she didn't want to be) So she struggled through the long words, waiting for him to be finished.

Of course, he could only make his homework last so long. He finished up rather quickly, as it were. He shifted uncomfortably, thinking on how to best approach the situation. He closed his books and stood.

She looked up. "Does Ootori-Sama wish to bathe now?" She knew she didn't, but kind of wished she could look more innocent, more girly. As it was, she just raised her eyebrows and waited for him to answer.

"Why don't you go first?" He asked. He pulled at his collar. After that last time, he wasn't sure he could do that with her again. He'd ended up _kissing_ her last time. There was only so much a man could do to hold himself back.

She chuckled quietly. "I could go now, if you like. But I meant to ask if Senpai would like _me _to bathe him." Her stomach was twisting in nervous knots. No. She'd already said it, there was no room to back out now.

He let out a quiet sigh. "Haruhi." He said as kindly as he could manage with his emotionally stunted voice. "You are not my slave. There is no one you need to charm here, alright?"

She grinned, letting herself go. No regrets, right? "But, what if I want to?" She ran her hand down to her hip, planting it there.

He looked away from her. No, not this. "You may think you want to, but Haruhi, I promise you, you don't."

She frowned. Stepping closer, she put her hand on his arm, just lightly. "Why wouldn't I? Because Senpai is so much better then me? That doesn't bother me. I'm your tool, aren't I? Use me."

He took hold of her hand, lowering it. "You're not, Haruhi. You are nothing of the sort." Why couldn't she just understand that? "You are my friend, remember?"

She ran her thumb in circles on his hand. "Friends don't do things for each other?" She rocked a bit, back and forth.

"Not like this," he replied. He worked his hand free of her grip. "Friends treat each other like human beings."

Her eyes were lusty, she knew, embarrassingly so, but she continued. She took his hand in hers and began kissing it, nuzzling gently. "Then let me treat you like one, Senpai. I won't bite... unless you want me to." She laughed into his hand, turning it up to repeat the process on the inside.

He shivered. "Haruhi, I can't. You-" How was he supposed to explain? Would she even listen? "You mean... so much more to me than that."

She looked up to him, letting his hand go free and reaching up to run her fingers along his face. "But not in this way, then." She stood on her tip toes, trying to see him eye-to-eye. She sighed, cocking her head.

In every way. But she was, as he repeatedly told himself, off limits. "Not yet," he whispered. Not until she'd healed.

She leaned in, placing a chaste kiss on his jaw. "But why?" She bumped her lips against the almost-stubble again. "You don't want me." She didn't ask, just went down to nuzzle his neck. "I can be more..." she kissed his collarbone, "desirable, if Senpai wishes."

He let out a pleased sigh. He felt good. No. He physically pushed her away, doing his best to be gentle but effective. "No, Haruhi. You're very desirable. Almost too much so. That's the problem here."

She let out a disgruntled sound. "Too much? Why is that a bad thing?" She wanted to continue. Feeling his skin heat underneath her caresses was something to savor.

"Because I don't want to take advantage of you," he finally admitted. "Because I can't, in good conscience, have you like this. We do this now, and I swear to you that somewhere along the way, you're going to regret it."

She lowered her eyes. "Senpai," she said, her normal voice returning softly. "I've never... I've never _wanted_ someone before. Or wanted them to take me." She played with her fingers. "So believe me when I say that this is something that I wouldn't ask for-" she looked up at him seriously, "-unless I was sure."

He took her hands, locking his serious eyes with hers. "I just can't know that for sure, Haruhi." He lowered her hands to her sides before letting go. "I don't want you to end up hurt."

She smiled, not looking at him fully. "You have an impeccable track record, Senpai. I wouldn't expect it on any level."

"I would," he replied. "So, no, Haruhi. I'm sorry." He couldn't look at her anymore. Again, he wished she had her own room. He wished he could just lock the door and sort through things. He'd never wanted this more.

She approached him again, his back to her, to wrap her arms around his middle tightly. "You don't give yourself enough credit. But if you don't want me-" her voice broke, slightly, "-then I'll restrain myself. But Senpai, I wouldn't offer myself to anyone else. They might make me, but..." I wouldn't like it. It wouldn't be you. She didn't know how to say it,so she let her words trail off.

"Thank you, Haruhi."

Logically, however. He knew this wasn't love. When under intense stress, a person will latch onto the first creature who shows her even a shred of kindness. This often leads to situations like Stockholm Syndrome and codependency.

Not love. Simple psychology.

She let go, going to her shopping bags to pick out new things to change into. Once she was equipped, she hurried to the bathroom, locking the door and letting herself cry for a minute, so confused. She dried her eyes, patting them down, (one _much_ more gently than the other), and going to look at her new wardrobe choices. She'd promised to restrain herself. That meant touching, words, the occasional begging, right?

She shrugged out of her clothing quickly, taking back what power she still had and took out her new purchases. Nobody had said anything about the way she dressed. And the lingerie she'd gotten had certainly not been mentioned. She slipped into the adorable, revealing panties, then pulled one of his undershirts over her head. She didn't care that she was forgoing the new bra. She bundled up her clothes from the day and went back out, determined not to look like she'd been crying.

Kyouya had crumpled onto the couch. There was just no winning in this situation, was there? Either way, they would both end up miserable. Why did the honorable misery have to be so hard?

He cut off his self indulgent little inner monologue. That was helping no one. He sat up to look at her, intent on saying... Something. But the sight of, well, all of her took his concentration. He supposed he probably should he bought her some pajamas, too...

She made her way toward the bed, crawling up decidedly slowly. She picked up the Pre-Med book again, purposefully letting the shirt fall off of one shoulder, sighing richly. He could just be being stubborn, for all she could figure, but she wasn't exactly sure what was attractive and what wasn't, considering anyone else would have taken her by now. She fanned herself, pretending to be hot under the covers, and pulled one of her legs out to stretch itself out on top of the comforter. All the while with her nose behind the book. Yes. Reading. Good.

Kyouya made many attempts to not look at her. But the carpet could only hold his attention for so long when Haruhi was in the room. When she was acting like this.

What was this? He was supposed to have more self control than this.

Stiffly, he rose. Walking in the complete opposite direction of the bed, he scooped some clothes out of his dresser, and took his turn to lock himself in the bathroom. Another cold shower tonight.

Ridiculous. He could be ravishing her, but he was going to take a shower. Absolutely stupid. She pulled herself out of the covers, flopping down on her belly to actually read the book this time. Oh, and the shirt had ridden up to flaunt her new undies. Oh well, she rolled her eyes. Not like anyone _cared._

He took a long, highly introspective shower. Nothing beyond the usual, _Is th__is worth it? Am I doing what's best for her? What about me? Why am I trying so hard for her?_ All of the question he'd already learned he could never answer.

He was practically numb by the time he finally shut off the water. Maybe he would sleep in the study tonight. She could lock the door. If she had a nightmare, she could come and see him, but he would already be asleep.

He opened the door, hoping she was already asleep.

She was actually engrossed in the book now, having stolen Senpai's highly technological phone to act as a dictionary for her, and was kicking her legs in the air absently. This time, she wasn't doing it on purpose. She barely looked up to acknowledge him when he reentered.

He took a moment to take her in. It was a mistake, he knew, but he simply couldn't stop it. The sight warmed his goose-bumped flesh. That was enough. He moved, quickly and quietly, out of the room.

When he left, she perked up, watching the door carefully. In his locked room, especially with _him,_ she felt safe. But now he was gone and the door was open, and she didn't like it. "Senpai?" She called, sitting up.

He made his way down the hall. Already, there was guilt nibbling at his stomach. But, honestly. If not for her, he needed this for himself. He needed to be away from her, just for the night. If he didn't get away... he didn't know what he would do.

She swung her legs over the bed, padding to the door quietly. "Senpai?" she called again, amazed that she could chase him away with so few touches. She must be horrific. Her heart began pumping much faster, and she closed the door quickly, locking it. What if Akito-San was home? Could she stop him if he tried something? What if...

She ran back to the bed, curling up under the covers. This was not good at all. And since she'd been on his phone, she couldn't even call to say good night.

Kyouya seated himself in his office chair. He'd never realized how uncomfortable it was.

No, it wasn't uncomfortable. It simply wasn't where he wanted to be. He wanted to be in bed, with Haruhi. What he wanted to be doing in that bed might have had something to do with it.

He sighed heavily, laying his head on the desk. It wasn't even that anymore. He didn't even want her so much. He just wanted to make her _happy._ That was it. Freeing her, putting her through school, taking her into his home, buying her clothes... What more was he supposed to do?

He tried to close his eyes, but sleep eluded him.

She pulled the book up onto her lap, trying to read it again, but this time the words made no sense no matter how many times she re-read them. She picked up the phone, wishing Senpai would just come back. She fingered through the pictures, chuckling at the obvious times when Tamaki-Senpai had stolen Senpai's phone. She turned the camera on, mimicking his joke, and took a few pictures of herself, then laid the phone aside. She looked at the clock, wondering how long it would be until she was tired.

After shifting around in his seat for what seemed like hours, he looked tot he clock. It hadn't even been half an hour.

It was so easy to fall asleep in here if one didn't want to be somewhere else.

This was just ridiculous. He needed to face the problem head on. A businessman didn't hide in his study like a child whenever something difficult came up. He pushed himself up, returning to the bedroom.

He knocked quietly at the door, trying not to disturb the rest of the house.

Her heart stopped. If it was Akito-San, she was going to have a heart attack. Her voice a bit unstable, she called, "Yes?"

"It's me." Kyouya called. His voice sounded tired and resigned.

She paused, then crept up to the door, prepared to slam it shut if it were Akito-san. "Senpai?" She was mostly hidden behind the door. "You're back?"

He lifted his glasses to rub his eyes. "Yes. I'm back."

She held the door still. "What... were you doing?"

"I'd like to go to bed, if you'll allow," he replied.

She colored, opening the door. "Of course."

He stepped inside. He knew he had to say something, he just wasn't sure what yet.

"I apologize for my behavior earlier. I could have handled the situation better."

She closed the door quickly, needing it locked before she felt entirely safe. She paused, hand on the knob as she thought through those words. Did that mean he'd changed his mind? "Senpai... wants to rethink his decision?" Her hand was shaking the knob lightly, so she pulled it away, fisting it to keep it still.

"No, Haruhi." He put a soft hand on her shoulder briefly as he passed by. "I stand by my decision. However, I'm willing to handle this situation like an adult if you are."

She shivered under the brief contact. Like an adult? What did that mean? "So you'd like me to handle this situation, discussing doing things that adults do, like an adult, which would mean... ignoring passions?" She turned, placing her hand on her hip. "Alright, if that's what you meant."

Ah, more sarcasm. It was a good sign that she was acting at, but right now it was just irritating. He ignored the comment, storming across the room to take a blanket from his closet. "Good night, Haruhi."

"If you can call it that," she huffed, crossing her arms. If the lingerie hadn't done anything, she must really be despicable. Her stomach was turning, her whole body shuddering painfully. She watched him bury himself under the blanket before going into the bathroom, needing the space. Infuriating. She stood at the sink for a minute, gathering herself, and was about to leave when she noticed a drop of something on the floor. Is that...?

She sat down on the toilet, checking herself and was horrified to find... "Blood?" She shouldn't be having a period. She was pregnant. There should be nothing to give, all of that stuff was making a baby. She was flowing pretty hard, too.

"Senpai!" She called, forgetting her annoyance. "Senpai!"

He just wasn't sure he could handle this.

But, then, she sounded very serious. He stood, going to stand by the bathroom door.

"What's wrong, Haruhi?"

Her voice was shaking. "Senpai, there's something wrong!" There was _way_ too much blood. Her heard was pounding painfully, trying to catch up with her breath, "I'm bleeding!"

He didn't stop to gather his thoughts. "I'm calling the hospital. Stay calm." He rushed for his cell phone.

She tried to sop it up with the toilet paper, but she was soaked. Something ran through her head to let her know that the lingerie was probably ruined. Everything was wrong, everything. She moaned incomprehensibly, something between words and a dying animal. Her baby...

Kyouya dialed the hospital. He had a very brief conversation, securing Haruhi a room. "Haruhi, I'm taking you to the hospital."

She looked up blearily, crying, once again, and nodded. She threw on the robe and didn't remember much about the car ride, except how hard she clenched her hands together. She felt as if in a smudgy haze until the doctor had reentered, setting down his clipboard on the side table.

Kyouya sat by her the whole time. He couldn't place why this whole situation made him feel so sick. The Kuretate... he must have-

He stopped the train of thought when the doctor returned. He brought himself to his feet, putting on his business face.

"How is she?"

The doctor removed his glasses, sliding them into his shirt pocket slowly. "She's fine. The baby was lost, however. I'm so sorry." He turned to Haruhi, who hadn't moved at all. "You'll have a complete recovery though, unless something changes. Did you recently suffer significant trauma?" The injuries were poking out of her robe.

"Yes." Kyouya answered for her, his voice flat and numb. However much he may not have wanted to talk about it, he knew she wanted to even less. "Thank you."

The doctor nodded, leaving a sheet of instructions with Kyouya, leaving quickly.

She finally turned up from her intense stare at her lap. Wobbly, she smiled. "Can we go home?"

Kyouya glanced over the instructions for any hospitalization notices. "Yes." He replied, his voice cracking in his dry throat. "Let's go home."

She tried to stand too soon, falling a bit as she got out of bed. What just happened? She put her hand to her head dizzily. "Can I-?" She motioned for his arm.

He bent over, offering his arm for her. "Shall I call for a wheelchair?"

She began to shake her head, then changed her mind. "You don't have to... but it would be really nice." She sighed tiredly. How late was it?

He offered a gentle kiss to the top of her head, before moving to call the nurse for a chair. It arrived in short order, Kyouya and said nurse helping her into it

She held his hand as they wheeled to the car. She just... wanted to sleep.

He stayed deathly quiet. He couldn't even make her happy on her good days, just what was he supposed to say to her at (possibly) her worst? He simply held her hand, all the way back home.

Her head lolled onto his shoulder, her body shaking as she began to realize what just happened. This was a blessing, right? Kuretate was out of her, forever. (If Senpai stuck around, of course) So why did it hurt so much? Her hand lay absently over her stomach, trying not to cry through the dark roads.

They arrived at the house. Kyouya sent the driver away, not quite ready to leave the car yet. He just wanted to sit with her a while. Until she was ready to move. Whenever that may be.

She was so stupid. She balled the robe in her hand, a sob escaping with her held breath. If she hadn't let him do what he'd done, then this wouldn't have happened. If she'd ridden home instead of walked, if she'd at least protected her middle because what kind of person didn't protect their baby? She leaned forward a bit, feeling a bit sick to her stomach. "I'm sorry-" she moaned, hiccuping, "I don't mean to be so thoughtless-" She was saying it to herself as much as Senpai, "But this solves our problem now, right? Nothing to hide from the m-media." She sobbed again.

Wordlessly, he pulled her into his lap. "You have no reason to blame yourself," he said. "For anything."

Her head buried in his shirt, his night-shirt actually, she let herself go. Why had she tried to hold it in? Senpai lo-

Senpai cared for her. He wanted what was best and- She'd threaded her arms around him, legs tucked in as far as she could hold them. She cried and cried, wordlessly thankful for his tenderness now, and when she'd used up all she had, she relaxed, falling into fitful sleep on him.

He kept his arms around her, even after she'd fallen asleep. He couldn't bring himself to risk waking her. He stayed like that all night, occasionally catching short snatches of sleep between rambling, distant thoughts. Until light began to creep through the darkened windows of the car.

She woke up, eyes feeling unpleasantly puffy, confusedly scanning her surroundings. This was... Senpai's car. They'd slept in here, then? She yawned, her throat scratchy from-

Oh, yeah. Last night.

She fidgeted, though strangely comfortable on his lap. Was he awake yet?

He opened his eyes. He'd been halfway between sleeping and not, and her sudden movement seemed to help with the decision. "Hello." 'Good morning' just didn't quite feel right, somehow.

She laid her head back onto his chest. "You must be sore." The apology was implied. "Did you sleep?"

"I did." A bit. He was a bit stiff under her, but he wasn't going to be feeling much soreness until he stood. "Did you?"

She nodded, running her hand along his shirt. She almost wondered if this whole... (baby) thing had been a dream. She didn't ask. If it had, it had been a horrible one.

"We need to get ready for school." She sighed against him, thinking how soothing his heartbeat was.

"I've asked off for the both of us for a few days." He replied, reaching up to tenderly stroke her back. "Until we're feeling better."

She _was_ sore. (And was loathe to admit why, exactly) "Oh. Okay." She closed her eyes again, running her fingers in swirls across the unoccupied half of his chest. It occurred to her vaguely how familiar he was. It was calming, like a familiar blanket as a child. Familiar and safe and warm.

He let out a soft sigh. It had been a rough week. Lying in the car like this, warmed by her and the sun. It was a nice change of pace. He only wished the context were different.

She nuzzled against him, enjoying this warm little reprieve. She may have had a severely horrible night, and the night before, but being around Senpai was soothing. She didn't know what to say; she felt as if thanking him now would break the moment, so she simply turned her head slightly to kiss his chest. It was nice here.

He knew he shouldn't have allowed that, but, right now, he just didn't have the heart or energy to stop her. Her life was so miserable. Whatever she needed to make her happy, right now, she could have it.

They dozed for a while, Kyouya letting her rest as much as she could in the sunshine. When he was fully awake, he carried her inside quietly, her sleeping form leaning against his chest for support.

The next few days went by in a string of sleep and quiet cuddling. Haruhi was a fighter, he knew that. He only hoped that she could heal from this as she seemed to be healing from everything else.  
>Life at the club went on, no matter what was happening to personal lives. Together cosplaying, charming guests, even stepping out to go to the Ootori's water park. Through it all, Kyouya kept a close eye on his charge, constantly worrying for anything to come in her way to set her off.<p>

But still, life was full of tears again for a while. She cried privately, mostly, in the bath or when going to sleep, or when Senpai was busy. But sometimes he was just _so nice_, and she couldn't believe she was allowed to recover in his arms.

So her days went on fairly peacefully for a while, the rhythm steady and soothing to Haruhi, the consistency wonderful. Because she wasn't going to lie down and accept defeat; this was just one more obstacle thrown at her. Although, Senpai's hand warm in hers didn't hurt to have.

* * *

><p>AN: Thanks to Lily, who's helping me edit now!

(Next chapter is the beach!)


	24. Beach

Haruhi huffed, dropping her chin into her palm on the window sill. "Senpai, why do we have to go to the beach?"

Her bag was filled with new things, presents, she thought, from Senpai to equip her for this new expedition. Though the bathing suit the twins had suggested wasn't much of anything. She didn't like it. Absently, she kicked at the bag to show her utter disappointment at owning anything she loathed so.

"Well, we have been promising to spend some time with Tamaki," Kyouya replied. "What's more, it will do wonders for our profit margins."

He wasn't exactly looking forward to this little expedition, but Tamaki was (begrudgingly) his friend, his friend, and he seemed very excited about that whole thing. Had to do something about him from time to time.

She sighed, staring out the window for lack of a better response. "And we're staying at your house?" Well, it was kinda sunny, wasn't it? At least that would be nice.

"We are," he replied. "It's less crowded than the main house. You may enjoy it. However, I suppose it should be obvious that, during this trip, we will not be sharing a room."

She nodded. Obviously. Even though Tamaki-Senpai had made some remarks lately that made her wonder if he knew about her and Senpai. But if Senpai wasn't worried, she wasn't either. "Actually Senpai, I'd been meaning to talk to you about that." She shifted, having planned this proposal so many times in her head (and failing). "I had wondered if maybe I should move to my own room. Even back at your house." She resisted playing with her fingers. She wanted to look resolute with this.

Ah, he'd had a feeling this was coming. Good for her. She was growing, learning to stand on her own a bit. Good.

"If you believe you're ready for that, I can have a room prepared for you before we arrive tomorrow."

She bit her lip in concentration. While she knew this was good, as Senpai wouldn't be there for her forever, she didn't like the idea of going to sleep alone again. But that was unimportant, at least for him. "Thank you," she chuckled wryly. "And you can start getting good rest again, eh?"

"You're far from a hindrance." He had, in fact, been sleeping better with her at his side. Or perhaps, getting up in the mornings as simply easier when he knew he had someone waiting for him.

She frowned, turning to hide her embarrassment. _Far,_ huh? Hm. "Senpai, I can still stay near your room, right?" The thought of sleeping near that disgusting brother of his made her skin crawl.

"Of course," he replied. "You'll have the room across the hall." It was usually reserved for his personal guests, but he was sure he could find another space for them.

That was a relief, at least. She thanked him, glancing at the distance between them. He wasn't upset with her, was he? No, no. This was good. She'd promised not to start... anything with him. So this (infernal) no-touching game they'd been playing recently was good. "So... the girls will be there? The whole time?"

"Only for a few hours, during the day," he replied. "We'll spend a bit of time with them while at the beach, before we retire to my summer home. Any objections?"

Obviously not. She was getting paid, wasn't she? "No. That's fine." She gave him a withering look. "Do I really have to wear the swimsuit, though?"

He chuckled. As much as he would love to see it... "I'm afraid I can't allow that," he replied. "We will, after all, have guests. You're free to swim, I simply ask that you cover up to do so."

The last thing she needed was to prance around in swimwear. Neither of them would be particularly happy if other people saw her like that.

"Good. I mean, okay." She couldn't remember the last time she checked herself over, anyway. It wouldn't do to get questions if she was still covered in bruises. She thought of something she hadn't considered, voicing it awkwardly, "Senpai, do you, um, swim?"

"Not if I can avoid it," he replied. "But, yes, I can." It occurred to him that he'd never directly asked her before dragging her off to the beach. She didn't swim at all at the resort. "And yourself?"

She snorted, specifically ignoring the thought of swimming _with_ him. "No. Is that something most people can do?"

"It is, in fact," he replied. He had no idea why he expected her to, however. "Shall I add that to the list of lessons?"

"Uh, yeah. I guess. Only if you're up to it, though. I wasn't planning on going in unless necessary, so I don't think I'll be in any danger of drowning anytime soon." Swimming with Senpai. Swimming with Senpai. Why was that so much more daunting than sharing a bed?

"Very well," he replied, making a mental note to have the indoor pool heated in the near future. "In that case, do be careful. The tides aren't particularly strong at this time of year, but I'd ask that you stay further inland."

She rolled her eyes, grinning. "Don't worry, Senpai. If nothing else, I've got common sense," she said, crawling up on his lap and donking his nose with her finger before covering his cheeks with kisses (but only in her imagination). She pushed the thoughts away and twiddled her thumbs. "I'll be fine."

"I don't doubt it," he replied. He knew she was smart enough for that, at least. He just worried sometimes.

She played with the power window idly, wondering what Senpai even thought of her anymore. It wasn't as if he was easy to read, especially recently. She sighed, folding her hands to settle in for the rest of the ride.

The car finally pulled to a stop. The chauffeur dropped them off a few blocks away from the place, as private beaches often don't have parking lots. Kyouya gave him a time to be back by tomorrow, before laying a hand on Haruhi's shoulder to steer her toward the beach. He wondered if the rest of the club was here yet.

Grinning softly at the touch, she pulled her beach bag up her shoulder. Obviously, she'd assumed Tamaki-Senpai would have been so excited to come that he'd have arrived alre-

"KYOUYA! HARUHI!" He came out of nowhere, giving them both bear hugs and bouncing up and down excitedly. "I'm so glad you're here! Isn't the day splendiferous?"

Kyouya did his best to ignore use of such a ridiculous word. "It's a nice enough day, assuming it warms up as the day goes on," he replied. "I hope none of the guests have arrived yet."

Tamaki shook his head excitedly. "None! But look at this beach, Kyouya! It's beautiful!" He posed, taking in a deep breath of the salty air. "Magnificent, don't you think?"

"Yes, it looks much the same as it did last year," Kyouya replied. It wasn't much to look at after all these years of vacationing here. "I'll have the umbrellas and volleyball courts set up."

Haruhi stayed in step with him as he began to walk. Calculatedly expressionless, she was still enjoying his faint bursts of attention. She was determined to be around if he decided to, you know, bestow any more. (She sighed a little; she was turning into one of his fans, wasn't she?)

Tamaki bounced along behind them. "We're going to have soooo much fun, aren't we? I haven't been able to sleep for _days_ planning for this trip!"

With any luck, that trend would stop tonight. "Yes, I'm sure it will be very enjoyable. Don't forget, however, that we are here on business."

Tamaki laughed, winking cheerfully at Haruhi. "Business isn't all seriousness, is it? Plus, I made a pact to make this the best weekend ever!" He slammed his fist to palm. "So I am determined!"

"Very admirable," Kyouya replied. He passed the man to begin the setup process. He kept one eye on Haruhi. He knew the club tended to be a little rambunctious, after all. Especially those twins. The fact that they were on the beach only seemed to give them new ways to harass her. Sigh.

She, however, was caught up in... well, the beach. Obviously, she'd never been to one, and until recently hadn't really ever used the Internet, so this was pretty much the first glimpse she'd ever had of a proper beach. Of a beach at all, actually.

It was huge. Not huge like the mall had been, but huge in a completely mind-blowing, imagination-altering way. The sky and the water met, far, far, off in the distance, making it hard to guess how much of it you could actually _see_. Plus, the sand was beautiful. She'd never walked in sand before, but it looked really soft.

Tamaki had pranced away to watch for the others, (who, according to him, were in sight), and Haruhi finally dropped her eyes. It felt strange knowing Senpai (indirectly) owned this _too_.

Her look of wonder was a sight to see. It was a bit heartwarming, in a way. "Some people find it pleasant to take their shoes off to walk on the beach," he threw over his shoulder for her. Of course, _he_ didn't. But she might find the experience interesting.

She looked up at him, a tad surprised he could read her that well, then shrugged and slipped off the new sandals. Like icy water, she dipped her first foot in gradually, wiggling her toes in the new element carefully, getting the feel for it. A little grin spread across her face, deciding she _liked_ it, and took a step in. It was different than pavement, for sure, but not bad. Actually, it was kind of soothing. She smiled up at Senpai, teetering around like she was wearing new shoes, and remarked, "This is kinda fun!"

"I'm glad you enjoy it," he replied. Perhaps coming to the beach wasn't so bad after all, so long as she was enjoying herself. And the guests, of course. It was important because of business.

Soon, he had everything ready. There were only a few minutes left before the girls were allowed onto the beach.

Hikaru slid up behind Haruhi, covering her eyes. "Guessss who!" he called cheerfully, dressed to the nines in his beach apparel already.

Haruhi took a deep breath, calming herself. Being startled by them was still a problem, but she'd been working on her reactions. "Hikaru," she deadpanned, wanting his hands off.

Kaoru chuckled. "Hey, Haruhi!" He moved to put an arm around his brother. "Oh, lemmie guess. You're wearing the swimsuit we got you under those clothes, right?"

She pushed away, waving her hands around like they were flies. "No, I'm not. Did you really expect me to?" She was inches away from rolling her eyes. Idiots.

Hikaru laughed. "Of course! We're at the beach; you _have_ to wear a bathing suit! She has to wear one, doesn't she Kaoru?"

"Yeah, what's the point of even coming if you aren't gonna dress down a little?" He grinned at her. "You'd look so cute!"

"No." She stomped back to the pavement, shaking off her feet to slip back into her shoes.

Hikaru followed her. "Haruhi, I hear Kyouya-Senpai really likes bikinis," he smirked, leaning on her shoulder.

Kaoru leaned on her opposite side. "You think he's a leg man, huh, Hikaru? I bet he fantasizes about Haruhi's aaaaall the time."

She scowled deeply, coloring in spite of herself. "Shut it. I don't care." She wasn't sure he was an _anything_ man, considering how good he was at resisting all of her horny urges in the past. "Drop it."

Hikaru whistled low, but didn't get off of her. "You're sure touchy, aren't you?"

"Sorry. Didn't mean to hit a soft spot." Kaoru backed off, feigning a defensive gesture. "You're right. You obviously don't care at all."

She let it go, not caring to defend herself. "Whatever. Can I go sit down now?"

Hikaru took his arm off. "Sure. Whatever you say." He rolled his eyes at his brother. "Hiding something, don't you think?"

"Yeah, definitely," he replied. "You know, Haruhi, we know Kyouya better than almost anyone. I bet we could help."

She picked her bag up again. "Uh huh. And what do you mean by that?" Probably something annoying or embarrassing, knowing them.

"Nothing, I guess," he replied. "Maybe if you told us what was going on, we could give you some advice."

She shook her head, knowing they were just fishing for information. "Shouldn't you guys be getting ready for your guests?"

Hikaru moaned, "Not yettt! We've got like, an hour, right? I wanna go play in the water!"

"Yeah!" Kaoru pumped a fist. "Wanna join us, Haruhi? Your guests might like seeing you a little wet."

"No." She pulled out her new towel. "Thanks, though."

"Fft. Bo-ring!" Kaoru rolled his eyes. Didn't she say she wanted to come here? "Okay then. Have fun, anyways."

Hikaru was already running for the tide. Haruhi watched them for a second, frowning, before shaking it off and spreading out her towel. She was going to just sit and watch, it she could get away with that.

Kaoru followed his brother out shortly after. Her moping wasn't going to get in the way of his fun.

Kyouya hoped they didn't tire themselves out too quickly. They still had quite a few hours ahead of them, and it looked like Haruhi was already stretched out looking sleepy already.

Tamaki had been busily trying to hail Mori and Huni in when he finally caught back up with Kyouya. "I think we're all ready, right Kyouya?" he grinned, flipping his hair. "At least, _I _am."

"Yes, everything is in place," he replied. And, according to the gatekeeper, some of the girls were getting a bit antsy. Showing skin really did ramp up sales, didn't it? "I suppose we should start letting them in now."

He nodded, putting his hand on Kyouya's arm. "Hey, Kyouya? How is-" He'd been worried, ever since Kyouya had told him about Haruhi's... position. "How is she doing? You know, since that night."

Kyouya looked across the beach at her once more. "She is... recovering," he replied. She did seem to be in much better spirits as of late. Perhaps that was her hormones balancing out again. Either way, she seemed to be handling things.

The blonde followed his gaze. Smiling softly, (a change of pace for the excitable second-year!) he said, "I'm sure she is. Besides, who's better at taking care of his girlfriend than you, Kyouya?" He grinned sloppily, not realizing his mistake.

Kyouya's calm faltered only momentarily. He forced out a sardonic chuckle. "She isn't my girlfriend," he replied. It was... more difficult to say than he thought it would be.

The simple term negated, Tamaki frowned, wondering how he could deny something so obvious. "Eh? If you say so." He scowled, looking across the beach at the frolicking twins. "I guess that leaves her open for someone else, huh?" Disgusting. Those dopple-ganging menaces!

"Oh, I hardly think anyone will have a chance with such a protective father watching over her," Kyouya replied. He wasn't kidding anyone but Tamaki. They were a perfect match, and he knew it. He also knew that Haruhi would see it one day, too.

Tamaki made a small noise, suddenly smiling at 10,000 watts again. "Well, my duties toward Haruhi are that of any normal father!" He pointed one leg out, giving view to the new trunks. "And I take it all very seriously. Now, onto our guests!"

"Indeed," Kyouya replied. Getting back to business. The only thing in life that made sense anymore.

The girls didn't so much arrive as they did _stampede_ onto the scene. There was already a fair amount of squealing and flailing going on, and it took quite a bit of effort on Kyouya's part to get things moving in an orderly fashion.

Haruhi came alert from the noise easily, and put on her best host face, (which wasn't too hard in the sunshine). They were disappointed, but not overly so, when she told them she wouldn't be swimming.

Hikaru and Kaoru's group were happily following them around the beach, pointing out things of little consequence with great excitement. "Hikaru-Kun! Look at all these crabs!" one of the girls called, pointing at a growing group of the snappers.

Ah, right. The shellfish delivery was coming in a little late. He'd hoped to have the beach fully stocked before Huni-Senpai had arrived, but, ah well. The girls seemed to be enjoying the hunt, as well.

Hikaru bounded over, calling for Kaoru and Haruhi. "Guys! You gotta see all these crabs! There's a ton!"

Haruhi perked up. "Crab?" She glanced towards the waves; her guests had happily run to get their feet wet. "Did you say crab?"

"Huh, oh yeah, I bet you love crab, huh?" Kaoru asked. "There's tons of them! Come on, let's catch some for dinner tonight!"

She ran over, her gait strange with anticipation. _Ohmygosh crab_. That sounded wonderful. "Yeah! Dinner! That'll be awesome!"

Hikaru dug through them. "Look, they're all so different! We're gonna need some buckets or something!"

Tamaki appeared with buckets in hand. "Men, I heard your dilemma!" He sparkled with good looks, scooping up one of the little buggers. "I have come with the necessary supplies to make ourselves a ~crabtivating~ dinner tonight."

"Ahh!" One of the girls squealed, peering at the crab in his hand to the ground. "Hikaru-Kun! Kaoru-Kun!"

"Huh? What's wrong?" Kaoru peered at the creature. It looked like any other crab to him.

She jumped back, dragging her friends with her. "CENTIPEDE. GET IT!"

Upon hearing the word, the other girls jumped back on their own, giving their own sets of squeals.

Hikaru drew back a little, too. "Yeah Kaoru, get it!"

Tamaki leaned in, sweating a bit. "As the Host Club King... yeah, Kaoru, you get it!"

"Eh? It's just a centipede." Kaoru inched forward. Oh, there it was. All those gross little legs flailing around all disgustingly. "But, then again, there are plenty of other crabs on the beach..."

Haruhi had leaned over him, trying to see what they were fussing about. "Guys, a centipede?" She picked it off, carrying it away. "There you go, little guy." She glanced over her shoulder at the awe-struck crowd. "_Believe_ me, they're more scared of you than you are of them."

Hikaru's mouth dropped open. "Haruhi, that was a bug! Don't you hate bugs?"

Geez, what a weird girl she was sometimes. "I guess you're not scared of much of anything, huh?"

She turned, dusting her hands off. "Well, certainly not _bugs_. But you guys weren't seriously afraid, were you?" She cocked an eyebrow. It had been a _centipede._ They could have handled that, right?

Tamaki frowned, jumping up. "Well of course we were! And you should be, too! After all, you're a lady, so you shouldn't like bugs!" He pointed dramatically at her. "You should need a man to come to your rescue!"

Even Kyouya had to roll his eyes at that one. He had no idea how silly that was, given all she'd been through.

A light bulb went off in Kaoru's head. "Hey, boss. I just got a great idea," he whispered mischievously.

Tamaki leaned in curiously. "What is it?"

Haruhi shook her head, casually scooping up a pail to fill up for dinner. At least one of them should be doing something productive, since the guests seemed to prefer watching them instead of joining in. At the moment a few of them approached her to help.

Hikaru had leaned in with his brother, knowing what was coming. "Oooh yeah, this'll be good," he put in, leaning on Kaoru's shoulder.

"It's a game." Kaoru began. "It's called the 'Who Can Find Haruhi's Weakness game!'"

Tamaki immediately tensed, wanting to play. "I want to play! What do you do?"

Hikaru laughed. "Well, everyone's got to have a weakness, right? So that means that _something_ really messes with her. And she would _only_ admit that to someone she trusts, right?"

Kyouya listened with half an ear. Well, this was a futile little exercise, wasn't it? He wondered if he could use this to his advantage... Perhaps place some red herrings. "Perhaps I can up the stakes." He'd been saving these for an occasion where he may need to prove Haruhi's supposed middle school years. He offered a few expertly shopped photographs.

It didn't register; Tamaki gasped in awe.

Hikaru was amazed, too. "Where did you get those, Kyouya-Senpai?"

He quickly moved them back to his pocket. "I have sources, as you know." He glanced at Haruhi, cheerily digging away at those helpless sea critters. Perhaps he should warn her about what these idiots were up to. Admittedly, it might be sort of interesting to see how she would react.

Hikaru raised a finger. "The deadline is tomorrow at sundown. Whoever finds out her weakness first, wins."

"We want to play, too!" Huni bubbled, jumping up and down.

How ill-natured the five of them could be. Not that Kyouya wasn't above his own little dark secrets.

"Alright!" Kaoru declared. "Ready. Set. GO!" He took off, bent on securing the spookiest location he could come up with.

Hikaru whispered something in his ear, grinning evilly as they confirmed a spot together. "Haruhiii~!"

A little later, the two had Haruhi and a few of the braver girls in front of the massive mouth of a cave. Hikaru waved them on, hunching a bit for effect. "I've heard that this cave is spooked," he said, letting his flashlight flicker a bit. "Someone was killed here, I heard, or maybe murdered, with a machete, or maybe a sword. Either way, it was _really_ bloody, and the spirits haven't left this cave since."

Kaoru crept along behind the group. Somehow, he'd managed to secure what was, in his opinion, the most terrifying wooden puppet around. As Hikaru wove his gruesome tale, he slowly stretched out the mannequin's hand, and dropped it's articulated fingers on Haruhi's shoulder with a creepy laugh that echoed throughout the cave.

The guests screeched in terror.

Haruhi looked down, blinking at the hand. "Guys, is this a courage test or something?" Why was Kaoru hiding like that? Maybe they'd secretly begun to play hide and seek without informing her.

The girls clung to each other, crying shakily.

Kaoru's face fell. So much for all that set up. "What's wrong with you? I thought everyone was scared of ghosts and stuff."

"I've never seen a ghost. Are they supposed to be scary?" She looked around, noticing the hysterical guests. Great. Now she'd have to calm them down, too.

Hikaru sighed massively, escorting the girls out. "Well, so much for that."

"We'll figure something out," he said with a sigh, ushering the girls out with the impersonal air of a flight attendant.

Hikaru watched Huni's plan fail from his perch on a stone wall just outside of the sand. Mori's didn't do much better. "This just isn't working, is it?" he sighed, swinging his feet lightly. "She's not much of a girl, is she?"

"Definitely not a normal one," Kaoru replied with a nod. He sighed. "Oh well. Looks like senpai gets to keep his pictures, huh?" He glanced back at Tamaki. He mischievous giggle while digging through he grass back there was somewhat disconcerting. "Boss, what are you doing?"

Tamaki looked up, his face set in determination not to get grossed out. He held out the bucket he'd been working on. "Snakes. Everyone's afraid of snakes, don't you think?" He grinned. He was going to win, wasn't he?

"Blech. Boss, that doesn't even count. Nobody wants to see a bunch of snakes all wriggling around like that. It's just gross." Kaoru thought about that for a minute. "Wait, what kind of snakes are native to Okinawa?"

"Haruhi-Kun!"

With the amount of crab she'd caught, Haruhi had kind of been in her own world. She looked up, hearing the voice from above her head, her eyes widening a bit at the guests. "That's really high!" she called, squinting at them. Senpai would definitely not want _her_ that high, so they shouldn't be up there, either. "You guys should come down where it's safe!"

They either ignored her, or simply didn't hear, because they stayed put, breathing in the evening air. "This is wonderful up here!" one of them sighed, enjoying the breeze.

A boy, just a bit older than the three girls, finished off another can of beer. It was hard to say how much he'd had already, but it would definitely qualify as 'a lot.' He chucked the can aside and offered a huge grin to the ladies, motioning for his buddies to follow him up. "Hey there, ladies!" he slurred.

They jumped, almost in unison. "You should go away," one of the girls stuttered. "We don't want you here."

"Aw, but'chu don't even know us all that much yet!" he replied.

A friend of his came to sling an arm around one of the ladies. "Come on, you look so bored and lonely up here!"

"This is a private beach," another put in, shying from the touch. "You shouldn't be here."

"Oh, yeah?" he asked. "Does that mean we're alone with ya?"

Haruhi had heard them before she saw them. The voices, the way they were speaking had triggered something, and it made her mad. She ran up the slope, appearing just as the guys were seeming to get... frisky. "They said leave them alone. So why don't you guys just go?"

The first man turned, cocking an eyebrow. Who was this skinny little punk? "Hey, kid, didn't ya hear? This is a private beach."

She'd never been on this side. She almost felt as she was channeling someone else as she clearly said, "They say you're bothering them. Are you really that immature?"

"Tamaki-Senpai!" One of the younger girls had seen the whole scene playing out from the safety of the sandy beach. "Tamaki-Senpai! Haruhi's in trouble."

Kyouya heard as well.

The man took a step forward. "What's it to you, anyways? You're gonna get yourself in trouble with that brown nose of yours." He took her by the arms. "Why don'cha go for a swim?" He spun her, tossing her over the edge.

She'd stumbled as he shoved her, thinking of nothing on the way down, catching one breath before she plunged beneath the waves. _I can't swim,_ her mind whimpered, _Senpai didn't teac__h me yet..._

Tamaki had begun running as soon as he heard, dropping the bucket of snakes in his wake. Haruhi! Haruhi was in trouble!

Kyouya had only just reached the peak when he heard the splash. Her cursed, tearing his glasses from his face. He let them fall with little regard for the lenses. He leapt off the cliff, much to the befuddlement of the two hooligans.

Tamaki ran to the surf, watching apprehensively. _Haruhi?_ He squinted, watching for his friend. The long moment before anyone emerged much too drawn out. Kyouya was there, did he have her? Was she okay? He didn't know what to do, or how to help. As her father- Well, it was an awful feeling.

Kyouya wrapped his arms around her. She must have lost consciousness from the fall. Not good. He kicked off of a jutting rock, propelling himself toward the surface. He pulled her head above the water with a gasp, before pulling her back to the shore.

Hikaru had just arrived, the rest of the club in his wake. "Haruhi?" he asked, trying to get a good look. As it was, Kyouya-Senpai was silhouetted by the setting sun, and it was impossible to see her face. They waited anxiously, all of them. Tamaki was fretting with his hands.

She wasn't breathing. Which, while completely predictable, was still enough to send a cold panic through Kyouya. He knew how this would look, but right now no one else mattered. They were only just barely there right now. He needed to save Haruhi, and that's what he was going to do.

Her mouth already hung limply open. He placed his lips against hers, breathing deeply into her, before pulling back to pound on her chest.

It was only through the murky backlash in her mouth that Haruhi woke up, coughing. Something soft had just been on her lips, or maybe that had been a dream? She opened her eyes slowly, blinking away salt water. "Sen-" She coughed again, more of the stuff coming up, "-Pai?" His hands were on her chest. Not knowing why, (and not particularly caring), she reached for one of them, trying to pull herself into a sitting position.

He pulled her up. Laying on one's back was never a favorable position when trying to clear one's lungs. "Take it easy," he told her, speaking gently, keeping a supportive hand on her lower back.

She barely noticed the others, worriedly observing her. She coughed once more, clearing her lungs a bit more thoroughly, and leaned herself against him. "I fell..." No, she was pushed. Suddenly she remembered why. "Senpai, those boys up there-" Her mouth faltered.

"They'll be dealt with appropriately," Kyouya replied, only now feeling the desperation and fear replaced by anger. "I can assure you of that." He looked to Tamaki. "Do you have an ambulance on the way yet?"

Tamaki looked up, shaking his head before fumbling with his phone. "Right away," he assured, dialing resolutely.

Haruhi resisted the urge to let herself nuzzle into Senpai; she was mostly just feeling tired now. This kind of thing wasn't anything she hadn't dealt with before. Boys would be boys. She tried to stand, feeling the need to make herself in control.

"Stay still," he instructed. "Just rest for a bit. That was some fall."

She didn't want to, but her headache was telling her otherwise, so she sank back down. She noticed then that Senpai's glasses were missing. She reached up, catching her fingers before they made contact with his face, but asked, "Senpai, your glasses?"

He forgotten all about them. He brushed his fingers against his face, but that was the end of the matter. "You let me worry about that."

Kaoru stepped forward to drape a towel around her. With the sun going down, she looked pretty cold.

Tamaki closed the cell phone, taking a deep breath before he turned. She was safe, so he could get mad now. Before, he was worried, but now she was here, alive. "Haruhi," he said, his voice strained, "What were you thinking back there? How could you have put yourself in such a bad situation?"

Kyouya gave him a look. Now was not the time.

Kaoru backed off awkwardly. He had a feeling things were a bout to heat up, towel or none.

Haruhi looked up at him, her face contorting into a fierce scowl. "What do you mean? Those girls were in trouble. Somebody had to do something!"

Tamaki shook his head, clenching his fingers in and giving her the look right back. "But you're a girl! You should have never put yourself in the middle of that!"

Hikaru glanced at Kaoru quickly. He felt like the Boss was opening a _huge_ can of worms here, but didn't think it would be right to pull him off now. It was his stupid mistake anyway, right?

While Kyouya could agree, in a way, with what Tamaki was getting at, he was going about this in the entirely wrong way.

Her blood began to boil. This was exactly the opposite of what Senpai had been trying to hammer into her hard head, and now was _not_ the time to say any otherwise. "Oh yeah? So you'd rather let those girls get hurt? What does it matter if a boy or a girl helped? Someone needed to do it, and I was there."

He leaned down to a crouch, looking her straight in the eye. "But you aren't a martial arts master like Huni-Senpai, are you? You could have gotten _really_ hurt, Haruhi."

It was true. What would Kyouya have done with himself if the worst had happened? Something in him caused him to hold her tighter.

She felt Senpai's grip tighten, almost annoying her more than anything, (except in the back of her mind, where Senpai was still on his Super Hero pedestal for rescuing her... again). Her scowl deepening, she remarked crassly, "I don't see that I did anything wrong. Say what you will, but my reaction was right."

Tamaki watched her for a long moment before straightening and sighing, "Fine. But I won't speak to you until you've admitted your mistake." He turned, leaving the group behind.

Hikaru whistled low, quiet, from the sidelines.

"Real nice going, boss." Kaoru mumbled.

What a child. Kyouya knew the man could be immature, but how does one teach another a lesson by giving them the silent treatment? He supposed he would have to clean up this mess in one way or another. What a pain.

She shifted, shifting and wanting to stand. "The girls are safe, aren't they Senpai?" She realized how pointless that argument would be otherwise.

"They're a bit shaken," he replied, loosening his grip on her. She was obviously feeling alright at this point. "We've had them taken home to recover from the shock."

She nodded, and tried to wobble to her feet. Good, Senpai took care of everything. "I feel fine, Senpai," she said, remembering the ambulance coming. "I just want to go home." She gave him a look, which she'd learned in the past was _very_ hard for him to say 'no' to. Something between puppy and pretty girl (though she really didn't consider herself a part of either group). "Please?"

If Kyouya could have seen clearly, he may have fallen for such a look. As it was, he simply proceeded to rub the salt from his eyes. "Perhaps it's about time we made for the beach house," he suggested. This was going to be a long night, either way.

Hikaru moved to her side awkwardly, supporting her where Kyouya had left off. "Come on, Haruhi. Let me help you to the car." He grinned at her, coloring a bit at her hand around his waist for balance. "Did I ever tell you the one about the two racehorses?" he asked, leading her away.

Kyouya followed them to the car. The whole experience had been somewhat nerve shaking. It was interesting. Things that make you think.

They reached the car in short order, fast on their way to the Ootori family's summer home.

Haruhi immediately went to change upon arriving, the frilly summer dress she found being the only one she'd thought to pack. Granted, it wasn't really her style, but she'd _thought_ she'd noticed Senpai looking twice at some of her frillier cosplays at the club, so... She looked at herself in the mirror. Not horrible, right? She rubbed her eyes, wondering if she'd ever look 'normal'.

The others had gathered in the dining room, Huni and Mori already busily bringing out the crab. (Which _had_ to be magic that it was done already; though Senpai's family was pretty good at that kind of thing.)

Hikaru perked up. "Haruhi!" he said, noticing her in the door. "Where'd you get that dress?"

Kaoru looked rather impressed, as well. "Wow, Haruhi! Lookin' good!" Like a girl, even!

Kyouya hadn't seen her wearing that one yet. It was, admittedly, a very good look for her. He might even go so far as to say 'cute.' A word he used very sparingly.

Her eyes passed over Senpai quickly, unable to see his eyes under is replacement glasses, and made up an excuse. "My dad bought it for me. I think he switched my pajamas with this."

Hikaru grinned, giving a thumbs up. "Way to go, Dad!"

Kaoru imitated his brother's gesture. "Awesome!"

An awkward pause occurred when she realized that the only available seat was, oddly enough, right between Tamaki and Kyouya. Maybe someone should move... But it seemed to be one of those moments where something simply _must_ happen, so long as someone else was the one to do it.

And then of course nobody wound up moving.

Still awkward.

She rolled her eyes, thinking something along the lines of 'he started it,' and plopped down in the seat, no matter _whom_ was sitting next to her. She picked up a crab leg, breaking the awkward silence to remark, "I'm sure these'll be great. After all, we collected only the best, right Huni-Senpai?" She closed her eyes with a sniff at Tamaki, and broke it open, eating greedily.

Tamaki, however, couldn't eat with his twisted gut. He watched her with growing horror as she plowed through leg after leg. "Haruhi?" he ventured, jumping back at a flying shell, "Isn't that a bit much?"

"I thought you weren't talking to me." Her mouth was still full, so her words came out muffled.

Ah, and there are those table manners he'd been working so very diligently to instill. Maybe it wasn't so bad. Maybe he was just irked with her, and everything she was doing served to increase that feeling. Of course, such anger was highly misplaced.

Tamaki pouted. "You're not even trying to be cute in that dress. Fine. I see how it is. Not going to reconsider? Then I'm going to bed." He stood from the table. "Kyouya, will you show me to my room now?"

Right. Because it wasn't like he was trying to finish his meal or anything. "Very well," he said, placing his napkin on the table. He stood, leading Tamaki off down the dimly lit hall.

Haruhi paused, letting her next bite rest on the plate for a moment. "Maybe I _should_ learn self-defense or something." With all that had happened to her, even just since coming to Senpai, that could have prevented a lot.

Hikaru leaned on the table. "Yeah maybe, but that's not what this is really about, is it?"

"It couldn't hurt. But that's not why we're mad, Haruhi," Kaoru continued.

Huni nodded. "I think you should apologize, Haru-chan."

She looked up at them, confused. "Apologize? Why? You think I shouldn't have done what I did?"

Hikaru sighed. "Haruhi, I wouldn't react like the Boss, but I did kinda wish you hadn't gone so recklessly. It worried m-us. We want you to be safe."

"It was really scary," Huni added with a nod. "So, be careful, okay?"

"You guys-" All of them? "Were worried for me?" Her expression twitched, mouth taut in a line. They'd been worried for her? She'd assumed Senpai had been at least a little worried (since he'd rescued her, although that _could_ just be his way of protecting his investment), but everyone? She looked down at her lap sheepishly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be any trouble."

Kaoru was the first to melt. "AW, Haruhi." He got up from his seat, somehow moving around the table in the blink of an eye, to fix her with a big hug. Huni and Mori followed suit.

Hikaru was cuddling her thoroughly when she started to turn a little green. "Haruhi, what's wrong?"

Her stomach gurgled. "I don't feel so good."

"Didja eat to much crab?" Kaoru backed away. He wasn't keen at all on being showered with partially digested crab.

"The bathrooms are this way!" Huni motioned urgently toward the hall into which the other two hosts had just disappeared.

It took a few minutes, but when her stomach was empty, she emerged from the bathroom, shivering at the waste of food. Good food. She really was an idiot.

Now, where was she? Senpai had never taken her to this house before, so she was as lost here as the others. The bedroom she had wandered into was _definitely_ not hers though.

"Oops, wrong room. Sorry," she said, turning when she saw a figure in one of the chairs. Kind of embarrassing, walking in on him like that. Actually, this was the Ootori's house...

(She hoped she hadn't just alerted any snotty older brothers that she was here.)

"It's fine," replied the figure. He pulled the towel from his head, hanging it around his neck and revealing an unbrushed tangle of black hair. "It's only me."

She froze, glancing at the voice to realize it was just Senpai. Shirtless Senpai. Without his glasses and hair all messy; she swallowed hard.

"Did I, uh, interrupt you? I can leave," she offered, only halfheartedly.

"It's quite alright," he replied. He stood, feeling for the water bottle he'd been sipping on all night. "Are you feeling better?"

Her eyes popped up from his-

She cleared her throat. "Yeah. Thanks."

"Good," he replied.

Admittedly, now that he'd had some time to think the situation over, he still wasn't entirely thrilled with her right now. Jeopardizing herself like that? She was growing independent, but cocky and foolish. He wasn't sure he could have taken losing her after all that they'd been through...

"Senpai," she frowned, "what? You sound..." He sounded upset. "Did I do something? Again?" There should be a limit on how many mistakes one day could take.

He sighed as he pushed himself from the chair. "That little stunt of yours caused us a lot of bother," he said, as he turned down the lights. "Money, too."

She glanced around, wondering why he'd turned down the lights so quickly. "I'm sorry. I just apologized to everyone else. You can just add the new money to my debt." Like she'd _assumed_ he would have already done. He usually didn't tell her every time she cost him something new. Plus, he had even started to give her _gifts_ lately.

"I could," he responded. But that wasn't really why he was angry with her. Money had nothing to do with it, and he knew that now. "But there are easier ways to pay me back." He took her by the wrist. "This is what you want, isn't it?" He threw her down, the silken sheets framing her wide-eyed face in the dim light.

She stared up at him, wondering if _this _was the moment she'd assumed was coming from the beginning. The betrayal, if you will, the end of the perfect lie. His face was cold, uninviting, but still he towered over her, his body covering hers like a shelter, like a cage. She wet her lips, unsure of which it was right now. "You said," she reminded, gently, to herself and to him, "that you didn't. Remember? I promised not to offer."

"Don't be naive," he replied. She trusted him far too much, he was beginning to realize. Even now, she thought he was some wonderful White Knight. Hardly. "You and I both know this is what I've been after since the beginning."

Her hand twitched, almost reaching out to touch him. He'd said he didn't...

But now, it was becoming clear that she'd fallen for that one. Maybe it had been a clever ruse to make this moment even more satisfying. Maybe he'd been priming her this whole time so that when he took her, he took her cruelly, listening to her tears and cries for help (to him, of all people), with laughter.

But-

No. This was Senpai. She smiled at him. "Senpai," her voice was low, trusting. "You know I'd let you. But you said before that you weren't-or maybe I wasn't?-ready. You're too good to take me like this. It would be counter-intuitive, anyway, right? Why break my spirit and will to love you, when letting me live a lie would give you unlimited access, free of struggle?" Her smile wavered.

He let out a deep sigh, his breath tickling her forehead. She was only half right. Of course he wouldn't. Not without her permission. And suddenly, it seemed, she didn't want this anymore.

What was he thinking? This wasn't him at all. Her perfectly rational words seemed to snap him out of it. "Counter-intuitive," he chuckled darkly, before sitting up. "You're absolutely right," he replied with a grin. "You're a fascinating woman, Haruhi."

She sat up, despite it all feeling less safe now that his body wasn't shielding hers. Crawling over by him, she lay a hand on his shoulder and smiled softly. "I don't know about that." Woman? She felt more like a preschooler when she was around him. "I didn't get to thank you properly for jumping in after me, though."

"Of course," he replied, perhaps to both statements. "I think I might bump up that swimming lesson, though." He sounded like he was calming down a little. He just couldn't stay angry with her...

She chuckled quietly, sliding her hand up to his chin, tilting it towards her. "That's not what I meant," she murmured, seconds before pressing her lips into his. It wasn't a kiss to end all kisses, but she was bad at kissing, and she really did want to show him she appreciated what he did. Huh. Two things today that she didn't know how to do. Although lessons from Senpai on kissing... okay, that didn't sound so bad.

Just for a minute, he let himself enjoy it. He sucked gently at her lower lip, breathing into her just briefly, before pulling away with a quiet pop. "I simple 'thank you' would suffice, I should think." Even so, he slid his hand over hers. Who was he kidding? He was all over her, she was all over him, and they both knew it.

She laid her head on his shoulder, her grin goofy at his response. (The one with his mouth, or, the one he _did_ with his mouth) "That was better though, right?" She wished he would just topple her back on the bed, continue with that exquisite mouth of his all over her.

"Perhaps." He sighed, sounding oddly content. Of course, when he remembered that this was all strictly prohibited, he wasn't going to feel so calm anymore. "Either way, you're welcome. Try not to do it again."

She chuckled again, his admonition weak, but they both knew that. "Senpai," she ventured, ignoring his warning completely, "why are you acting so irrationally?"

"You noticed, did you?" He scooted over to rest against the headboard. "I suppose... I was worried about you today." That was it. He was never angry. He was scared. How silly.

She moved with him, contentedly resting herself against that wonderful, warm, chest of his. "Worried? On what basis? Investment?" She liked the feeling of rising and falling with his breath.

"I think you know better than that," he replied. Transparent or not, he still refused to say it aloud.

She laughed, feeling free like this. Daringly, she lifted her leg over his to pull herself closer to him. "My bad. I shouldn't have asked, anyway. You've been irrational since day one."

"Have I, now?" he asked, feigning offense. Of course, she was right. Meeting her seemed to have turned him into this odd, unhinged alternate version of himself. Even with all the sneaking around, he'd never felt quite so at home as he did with her.

She smirked, flipping herself over to straddle his middle, hovering over him in a decidedly out-of-character manner. "Yes. Although you've pushed me to irrationality too, so I'm not too worried." She paused, waiting for his next move before she did anything. Besides, wasn't this every guy's dream?

He sat up straight, but otherwise didn't react. He'd only just managed to pull himself off of her. This wasn't helping. "Oh, that's my fault, is it? I was under the impression you were born like that."

She grinned, her expression a mixture of ten things at once. "No, irrationality is a learned trait. And I believe you had to have at least_ refined_ it, no?"

"Hm. Fair enough." He placed his hands on her tempting hips... No. He gently leveraged her out of his lap. "But, as I've not heard any complaints until now, I shall assume that this isn't a problem."

She lowered her eyes, realizing her actions were too much. "No. Senpai, can I ask you a question? Only agree if you'll be completely honest."

Ah. Very dangerous territory, that. Especially coming from Haruhi. Still, she had his curiosity now. "I wouldn't give you anything less."

She smoothed her dress over her knees thoughtfully before blurting, "Why don't you want me like the other boys?" Blunt, but she didn't know any other way to ask. She assumed it was because he'd seen her up close, and personally guided her through hard times. Being that close to _her_ was liable to be dangerous, and annoying. But she wanted to hear it from him.

Ah, he had a feeling it was something like that. "I suppose I simply fail to see the joy in taking what you haven't earned," he replied.

She stared at him thoughtfully for a moment. "You only want what you cannot have..." she whispered to herself. Still concentrating deeply, she prodded, "You have earned me though, haven't you? The mere changing hands of the money should be enough, no?" A product or service had something behind it that represented how much it was worth, she'd learned in class. In many cases, that representation was held by money, and she had trouble seeing why she should be any different.

"In a purely physical sense, you would be right," he replied. "If I were looking for meaningless physical release though, there are less illegal ways of obtaining it."

She blinked, her lips mouthing 'less illegal', unsure of what he meant. "Regular girls like... the girls at the host club?" She thought about her guests, how they seemed to swoon over her, but not expect anything to really _happen_. Did regular girls really live like that? Unafraid of anyone, able to pick and choose who they thought was worthy of their attention? "You like regular girls."

"Not so," he replied. "I despise them. They think of nothing of consequence. They live their lives expecting everything to be handed to them. They talk for hours about nothing at all important." Putting it simply, they weren't Haruhi.

A few tiny beads of sweat formed on her lip. Everything he told her was making more sense, and less. "Senpai, I'm your cover," she said suddenly, her voice trailing up at the end like a statement and a question. "You're gay." Or maybe he didn't like anyone.

He gave her a look. She could make the strangest leaps in logic sometimes. His lip twitched into another grin. "I'm afraid that's still not quite right." Well, it seemed his attraction wasn't as obvious as it seemed to him. Which, while a good thing, was a little disappointing.

She shook her head, glad she'd guessed wrong. "So what do you consider earning things, then?"

"It can have several meanings," he replied, more than happy for a change in subject. "I don't simply mean money. Some things, such as trust, must be earned through actions."

Haruhi brightened, this part making complete sense. "So earning trust through actions like taking care of someone while they're sick, or making sure they do the mundane things like eating, or even jumping in after them when they're drowning?" Master would have killed to see her choking in that water. Senpai had jumped in to rescue her. "That makes sense, then."

"Yes, something like that," he replied. He did hope she understood, then. Maybe she would stop tempting him. Speaking of trust... "Have you spoken with Tamaki yet?"

She shook herself out of her critical thinking-reverie, raising an eyebrow. "Tamaki-Senpai? No, why?"

"I think you should," he replied. "He was worried about you, too."

She considered that, the only thing she _wanted_ to do right now was either go to sleep on Senpai's chest, or lie back and let him cover her with greedy love marks.

But that was beside the point. "Okay. I'll apologize to him. I don't get why they were all worried, though." Because it was completely irrational to be worried for something so far below your status like that.

"Because we love you, Haruhi."

He stood, intent on ending the conversation right there. He walked across. Of course, this being his bedroom, he couldn't very well leave. Maybe he should have kept that to himself.

Hearing those words, in that order, coming from his mouth, was a big deal. She knew that. Her face held the appropriate amount of awe to his turned back. She loved him, too. Right then, she made the decision to go ahead and say it. Screw betrayal; if he was going to choose to do that, the time beforehand would be a better life than she'd _ever _had. And he was worth it.

Interesting. She didn't move from her perch on the bed, watching him.

He turned, found his glasses, and put them back on. Suddenly, the atmosphere felt very heavy to him. Like he'd said far to much in those five little words.

"Are you waiting on something?" he asked, the tension just a bit to thick for his tastes.

She paused, her expression soft, as she thought through their conversation. Thinking back to her original question, she realized her mistake. "Senpai, just to be clear, I meant to ask why _you_ didn't want me. Not only in reference to anyone else who has, even if it came out like that." Her mouth twitched, the correct way to say any of this elusive. "And while I am curious, this only proves to me what a good person you are." There. She'd said more than what she wanted to, but it was out.

He laced his fingers together behind his back. "It's very kind of you to say so." He had never exactly thought of himself as a 'good' person. Certainly not a 'bad' person, but the praise she gave him... Well, it was sad that he was her best point of reference when it came to 'good' people.

Thunder rumbled in the distance. He'd dodged the question, but she realized now that she'd expected that. She shouldn't expect him to answer any of her questions, really. She shouldn't have expected to be able to talk him down from the compromising position earlier, either, especially because she shouldn't expect to be allowed to talk.

And she was becoming more and more sure that he didn't have an ulterior motive for letting her have so much freedom. "I only say what I mean," she said seriously, fingers flicking thoughtfully. "Because I would be able to tell if you were like Arai-sama, or Master-"

The thunder boomed again, cutting her off mid-sentence. She took a deep breath. (It was only rain, right?)

He took note of that. She suddenly seemed tense. Interesting.

"I know you do," he replied. "And I've always appreciated your honesty." He moved across the room to close the curtains. It occurred to him that he ought to turn the light back on at some point. The two of them looked rather suspicious in here.

The door edged open, Tamaki sighing, "Kyouya, do you have an aloe? My sunburn's worse than I-"

Kyouya was half naked. Near the bed, which Haruhi was on.

His eyes widened, gaping. "You-?"

Ah, there it was. As usual, Kyouya played things cool. He lifted some burn lotion from the nightstand, tossing it in his direction on his way out of the room. "Use all you need," he told him. He tried not to look like he was in a hurry.

Tamaki caught the bottle, still gaping. It was dark, and they'd been...

Alone?

Did that mean what he thought?

"Haruhi, what was going on in here?" Kyouya had said they weren't together!... Right?

Oops. This could make Senpai look pretty bad, couldn't it? "Nothing, really," she recovered. Her voice was level enough, but that really was the worst recovery ever.

"HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO BELIVE THAT?" He waved an accusing finger at her. "You were in the dark, alone, and he was practically naked!"

Catching his breath, he grunted and rubbed his head. "We've had a long day," he said, recovering himself before he did something stupid. "Maybe you should just get to bed." He turned to leave.

Lightning and thunder. The closer together they were, the closer the storm, wasn't that right? The two struck simultaneously. Her mind left her, and all of a sudden, she just needed someone with her.

She let out a squeak, reaching out to hold him by whatever she could grab. She managed a handful of his shirt.

"Senpai-"

He turned, a shot of lightning lighting up the room for an instant. He caught only a glimpse of her holding his shirt so hard. "Eh?"

As the light faded from the room, Haruhi returned to her senses. "U-uh, nothing! Sorry, Senpai, I just remembered!" She let go of him, jumping off the bed and searching desperately for an out. "I have something I have to do!" She threw herself into the wardrobe across the room.

He cocked an eyebrow, passionately realizing, "There's nothing anyone has to do in there!"

When there wasn't an immediate answer, he crept toward the furniture carefully. "Haruhi?" he called, pulling on one of the doors to no avail. "Are you afraid of storms?" Another burst of thunder rang out. "Come out, will you? It's probably scarier in there in the dark, right?"

"N-no, it's fine," she replied. She buried her head in her arms, wishing for all the world that Senpai were here right now. Wishing that she couldn't hear anything out there. "I'm used to dealing with things this way." This was, by far, one of the less scary things she'd had to deal with. But still scary.

_She'd been through quite a lot by the time I finally stumbled upon her._

Kyouya's words whispered through his head. Tamaki paused, knowing that she was being completely serious, but couldn't accept that as an answer. She'd gotten through everything life had thrown at her before any of them had met her. "You're a warrior," he murmured, "Not even coming for help when we were so close by."

He gave the doors another heave, finally unsticking themselves as they flew open. "You've gotten through things on your own before," he said, taking her in, her body as tightly curled as it could be, "But you don't have to anymore, do you?"

She couldn't believe it. They really did care. With nothing to gain from her, without even asking for anything. The wanted to help her. The thought was enough to bring tears to her eyes. This problem was compounded by another flash of lightning. Overcome with emotions, she all but threw herself out of the closet, reaching out for him.

Tamaki caught her, wrapping her tiny body up in his arms gently, letting his chin nuzzle her hair. "You're safe with me, Haruhi. Where ever you are, I promise to be there for you." Her hair was soft between his fingers. He pet her head lightly, smiling for her even though she couldn't see it.

She buried her face in his chest, wrapping her arms around him as tight as her skinny arms could. "Thank you, Senpai." she sniffed, trying to keep all the tears and snot off of Senpai's shirt.

Hikaru looked up at Kyouya-Senpai's re-entrance. "Hey, Senpai!" he greeted cheerfully. "Did the Boss find you? He was trying to find you a second ago." He had helped the Boss too, just as cheerfully, pointing him in the wrong direction. He smiled at the second-year.

"Despite my best efforts, yes," Kyouya replied. And commandeered his bedroom, to boot. Ah well. "I apologize for leaving. I must seem a very poor host."

Hikaru whistled low. "Where's Haruhi?" He half-nodded at Kaoru, the thought passing through both of their heads in an instant.

"Perhaps she decided to rest for the night," he replied as he seated himself at the table to appear friendlier. "No one could blame her for being tired."

Hikaru began giggling like a schoolgirl. "They're together, aren't they?" He elbowed Kaoru, a devilish look taking over his features. "I wonder what_ they're_ doing, eh?"

Kaoru... really didn't like that idea. But, as usual, he played along with his brother's antics. "You know the boss. Such a heartthrob!"

Kyouya couldn't find it in him to get terribly worked up by their teasing. Now that he knew her background... No, he wouldn't touch her.

Hikaru jumped up. "We're not seriously gonna let this go to waste, are we? Come on, we need to go see what's happening!"

"Yeah! I wanna see if the boss has a bloody nose yet!" Kaoru cheered.

Kyouya rolled his eyes. "Very well," he replied, as any good host was. He led them down the hall.

Hikaru knocked on the door abrasively. "Boss! We're coming in!" Pushing it open quickly, he gawked at the sight.

Haruhi let Tamaki-Senpai tie the mask around her eyes, feeling more comfortable already without the distraction of the lightning strikes.

"See?" Tamaki said, finishing the knot, "Now all you need to do is put in the ear plugs, and you won't be able to hear anything at all!"

"Yeah," Haruhi agreed, grinning, "You're right, Senpai!"

"You nasty pervert!" Kaoru declared, his voice low and disgusted.

Hikaru nodded in time to the statement, adding his own, "What kind of sick foreplay is this, anyway?"

Tamaki's head bolted up. "Foreplay? That's not it at all! I wasn't doing anything of the sort! I was trying to help her to not be so nervous for the rest of the night!"

"Sounds like foreplay to me," Kaoru replied. He quickly moved to take Haruhi's shoulders. "Come on, Haruhi, let's get you out of here."

Kyouya wasn't so much angry with the man, as he was embarrassed. He knew better than to suspect that sort of thing of him, after all. Again, he was just trying to do a nice thing and going about it entirely the wrong way.

Haruhi fumbled with the blindfold, not even having considered that Tamaki-Senpai would have been doing anything like _that._ She frowned at him before leaving with Kaoru. To think she'd thought he was too naive for that.

Tamaki moaned as they left, tears flowing freely. He turned to Kyouya. "You believe me, don't you? I wouldn't have done anything like _that_!"

"Of course you wouldn't," Kyouya replied. It sounded a little more like a command than a statement. "What, exactly, _were_ you doing?"

He wallowed on the floor. "Just trying to help her with the storm! I only wanted to make it seem like the storm had passed already." The crocodile tears began streaming again. "But now she'll think I'm some kind of pervert, won't she?"

It would have been funny, if it weren't Haruhi. "I'll talk to her about later," he assured. Was she scared of storms? He made a mental note of that.

Tamaki stood, wiping his tears and nodding tearily. "Thank you. I'll do my best to be brave in this bad situation!"

Haruhi thanked the twins, and closed her door behind her. The worst of the storm seemed to be over, but she could still hear quite a lot more thunder than she wanted to. Time to burrow under all the blankets at once!

"I have no doubt that you will persevere," Kyouya replied. "However, it's late. I think we'll all make a lot more sense in the morning." He did need to speak to Haruhi, of course. But he wanted Tamaki out of the way first.

He nodded, "Okay. I'll see you in the morning then, Kyouya. And as the great Muhammad always said, dream the whole night through!" He paused, "Or maybe that was my father. Anyway, good night!"

"And you as well," Kyouya replied. He could be so odd sometimes.

He waited a few minutes, until he was certain Tamaki had gone to bed. Then he left his room, creeping across the hall to give Haruhi's door a soft knock. "Are you still awake?"

She had only vaguely heard the knock, but peeked out hesitantly at the voice. "What?" The thunder was beginning to fade, so she was semi-okay with leaving her head out of the safety of the covers, at least for now.

"May I come in?" he asked, keeping his voice soft so as not to alert they rest of the club.

Silly. After everything, he thought he really needed to ask permission? "Yes," she squeaked, the sky lighting up faintly.

He stepped through, closing the door quietly behind him. "You're scared of thunder, is that right?"

"I, uh," It was embarrassing. She didn't want to admit it, but it was Senpai, "Um," she scooted farther under the covers. "Yes."

As if she didn't have enough to worry about. He moved across the room to place himself on the side of her bed. "Would you like me to stay a while? Until the storm has passed."

It was completely and utterly tempting. But wasn't she trying to give him back his life? "You don't have to, Senpai. I've dealt with this plenty of times-" she pulled the covers over her head, "on my own."

He watched her through the corner of his eye. That was exactly why he wanted to be here for her. "But you don't have to anymore."

She sighed from under the covers. They cared about her so much. Too much. She reached up to pull the blankets down to her nose to look at Senpai. "Well, if you don't mind, I guess."

"I think I'll manage for a while," he replied. He swung his legs up onto the bed. He was finally starting to feel all that time out in the sun. "I hope you didn't take the twins too seriously."

What had the twins done? "About Tamaki-Senpai being a pervert?" she snorted. "Hardly." She wiggled over slightly to rest her head on his leg, even with the blanket up so high over her head.

"I was only making sure," he replied, already moving to stroke her hair. Still playing it a bit loose with the hands off rule, are we? He let out a yawn.

She breathed into the touch, noticing, again, the tiny shiver that his fingers still gave her every time. She yawned too, darting a hand out to stroke his leg. "Do you think the earplugs would have helped anyway, Senpai?"

"The thunder would still be there," he replied. His eyelids were already dangerously close to shutting. She was just too easy to get comfortable with...

Her eyes drooped, a little sigh escaping with her high comfort levels. "Too logical," she murmured, her words tiredly slurred.

"Oh? I thought I was illogical," he replied, wrapping an arm drowsily around her.

She laughed languidly, burying her face in his pant leg for a moment. "Confusing, then." He was so comfortable. She was already breathing deeply as she found his hand to lace up her own with it.

"Wonderfully-" she yawned, "confusing."

He chuckled. That sounded like an apt description of the both of them as a whole. He wanted to reply, but sleep was tugging to hard on his mind. He let out a soft sigh, slowly falling asleep.

The sigh was definitely taken in and filed away under her file of vulnerable moments she'd actually witnessed of Senpai, but he was just too darn warm and soft and she liked the feel of his muscles relaxing under her head. She drifted away lazily.

* * *

><p>AN: YES It's finally the beach episode! How'd we do? ;D

(Obviously, credits go to my partner, and Lily, who was kind enough to edit for me!)

Next chapter soon!


	25. Shop

Kyouya awoke relatively early the next day. He told himself he really should move to his own bedroom before anyone else woke up. Yesterday had been confusing enough. Just five more minutes, he thought.

She'd been dreaming pleasantly when she felt the slightest movement. She probably would have been a heavy sleeper if it weren't for Arai; as it was, she opened her eyes a slit. She moaned quietly, moving on her makeshift pillow.

"Haruhi." Kyouya mumbled. "I've got to get out of bed."

She groaned. "Why?" It was _early_, the sun wasn't even awake yet.

"Because if the twins find us together, there will be hell to pay," he replied. He said these things, but made no serious attempts to move himself.

"Screw the twins," she said, burying her face in his leg again, kicking her leg annoyedly on the bed.

As valid as that point may have sounded, he knew better. "You know very well that we can't do that." They were just the sort of friends who would send this straight to the gossip rags.

It hurt how much sense he made. She rolled off him unwillingly, feeling instantly colder. "Fine. I wouldn't want to screw them, anyway," she grumbled, eyes closing again.

"I don't think I would allow it, either way." He was only half joking. He rolled out of bed, pulling up the blankets to make up for his absence. "I'll see you in a few hours." He said, considering just crawling back into his own bed until a more reasonable hour.

She groped for his hand blindly as it replaced her blankets, pulling on it insistently. Squinting, she tugged at him until she could reach up the last few inches to press an impromptu kiss on his cheek. Dropping back to the pillows, she mumbled, "Okay. See you."

"You will," he replied. He rubbed at his cheek on the way out of the room. They really had to stop doing that. He was getting much to emotionally involved... again.

No one else in the house stirred for a while, even early-riser Tamaki waking later than he normally did. He'd sat up in bed with an itching to play the piano, so twenty minutes later he was wandering around, looking for the music room.

Kyouya had heard him out there. He supposed that was his cue to finally drag himself out of bed and entertain his guests. Why was he up so early on a weekend, anyways?

Tamaki had finally found his way and sat down at the piano, almost reverently. He ran his fingertips over the keys before beginning with a simple tune.

Ah. Kyouya should have suspected. It was perfectly natural for someone to be up this early for the sole purpose of playing the piano. He made his way to the study. "Good morning," he said, quietly enough that he wouldn't interrupt the flow of that beautiful music.

Tamaki paused, only for a second, smiling up at his friend. "Good morning, Kyouya," he said, his fingers descending into a slow crescendo. "Did you sleep well?" His voice was relaxed with the music.

"Well enough," he replied. When he actually got around to sleep. "You're up rather early."

Tamaki chuckled, scooting over slightly in case Kyouya wanted to join him on the bench. "I think I should be the one saying that," he turned to look at his friend, "Considering the nicknames the twins gave you,"

Kyouya grinned a bit, taking a seat instead at the desk across the room. "Low blood pressure is no excuse for being a poor host."

Tamaki laughed outright, his fingers mimicking his laugh. "You are an excellent one, Kyouya."

"I do try," he replied, reclining lazily in his office chair. It wasn't like he really needed to be up right now. Tamaki was fully capable of entertaining himself... But he was an excellent pianist.

The music was extremely relaxing, both hearing himself play and actually playing. Though he was usually content to be around his friends or the girls from the club, he felt most relaxed creating at the piano. He played without words for a few minutes, forgetting there was anyone else in the room.

He noticed an extra visitor out of the corner of his eye though, as he played through the chorus again. He smiled, inclining his head slightly to invite her in.

Kyouya tossed a greeting smile in her direction. He nodded to the lounge across from the desk. This was nice. A quiet moment, early in the day before all of the ridiculous shenanigans could begin...

She'd been awoken by the music, gently drifting into her sleep and prodding her awake to find out it's origin. From the door, she'd peered in to see Senpai and Tamaki bathed in the early morning sunlight. When Senpai smiled, she pushed into the room, padding softly to the piano, drawn to the music like a fly to honey. She paused, then slid down next to him, watching his fingers intently. It was like magic.

Kyouya watched the two of them. Honestly, it made him a little nervous when those two were together. What would he do if they ever realized how compatible they were? Should he be happy for them? Of course. Would he be? Maybe not.

Tamaki finished the set, turning to her. "Have you ever played, Haruhi?"

She shook her head. "No. It looks hard."

He laughed, covering her hands with his and playing a few chords, showing her each key in turn. She drank it in, turning a delighted look behind her. "I'm playing the piano, Senpai!" she exclaimed.

He couldn't help but smile. It seemed to give her such joy. Perhaps he would get her piano lessons one day. "You seem quite talented with it," he remarked.

Tamaki nodded, releasing her hands. "Try it yourself," he prodded, fingers hovering just in case.

She concentrated, doing exactly what he'd done before, at least, she thought. When the string of cords was finished, she looked up for his reaction.

Tamaki gave a wide smile. "That was wonderful!" He put a hand on her head, rubbing gently and praising, "Maybe you should take lessons some time. You seem to have a knack for music."

Kyouya sat, quietly watching them. She was happy. Good. "Perhaps I should add that to the list."

Tamaki glanced back at him. "List?"

Pressing the keys into a chord lightly, Haruhi said, "Yeah. Senpai and I have a running list of things I need to learn how to do." She chuckled quietly. "But I think swimming is at the top, after yesterday."

"She's becoming a very fine dancer," he added.

He'd never considered how many things she probably didn't know how to do. If what Kyouya said was right (which it always was), then she was probably getting used to a lot of things that were completely normal to everyone else. "Haruhi-" he said, "You can dance?" He smiled widely, wiggling in his seat at the sheer adorableness she exuded. "I would _love_ to see you dance!"

Haruhi wasn't paying attention too closely. She was squinting at the music sheets, (as if that would help her understand them suddenly), and responded, "Uh, yeah. Sure. Sometime, I guess."

Kyouya stood. Now seemed as good a time as any to enter the conversation. "Would you play us a waltz?" he asked, offering a hand for Haruhi.

They both looked up, surprised. Haruhi's hand darted out to tuck her hair behind her ear without thinking. She stood, taking the offered hand lightly. Tamaki, watching her, completely enthralled, but snapped out of his mini reverie to nod and begin a bittersweet waltz. She stared up at Senpai, her face almost emotionless, and waited for him to lead.

Kyouya counted a few beats, before beginning the waltz. "Smile, Haruhi," he instructed. "You don't want your partner to think he's boring you, after all."

She started, missing the first step and attempting to smile. "You're anything but that, Senpai." She hurried to catch up with him, finally falling into rhythm after a horrible first box.

"I do hope so," he replied. "Getting rusty, already? I suppose we've been slacking off." He spoke without missing a single step.

She flushed a bit, frowning. Then, remembering her manners, smiled. "You didn't want a boring dance partner, did you?"

Tamaki caught a glance of them, spinning elegantly with the notes now. She was stunning. Even now, even in her nightgown with her hair askew. Is that what fathers thought when they saw their daughters? It must be, because she looked marvelous.

"Certainly not," he replied, leading her into a spin. He could almost forget that Tamaki was here. He was no longer a rival, simply part of the scene, the music provided. No, when he and Haruhi danced, it was no one but the two of them.

She tried to stay away from her usual trains of thought that descended on her any time she got to just bask in _Senpai_. He was gentle, thoughtful, logical, extremely intelligent, and an excellent caretaker, but that was beside the point. It felt good to let herself drink in the simple pleasure of being able to do something as classy as waltzing, no matter whom she was with. Not even all normal people could waltz, right? This was something reputable that she could do that not everyone could claim. It was kind of a proud accomplishment, right?

She spun into him, enjoying the closeness. Of course, it was infinitely better being taught by Senpai.

She would be the talk of the party, he knew. If ever she were allowed to attend such a gathering. She was witty and intelligent, graceful and beautiful and all of the perfect traits of a high society lady. He would present her. One day. Somehow.

The song ended gracefully, Tamaki finishing it out with his usual flair. He turned to the two, "Kyouya, you weren't joking about my baby girl!" He stood, clasping his hands proudly at his chest. "She really is an excellent dancer!"

Haruhi let go of Senpai, sad the song was over already. She thought about interjecting that all she did was follow Senpai's lead, but didn't feel like it. Let him compliment her; Senpai would correct it if he felt the need.

"I don't make idle compliments," he replied, adjusting his glasses after the spirited little dance. "She's a quick study."

Haruhi raised an eyebrow at the blonde. "Did you want to dance, Tamaki-Senpai? I can't imagine that Senpai wouldn't be able to play us something, right?"

Tamaki froze, still smiling, before descending into red-faced embarrassment. DANCE? With Haruhi? "Oh, nonononono, that's okay!" He waved his hands defensively.

Haruhi blinked, glancing away. "Oh. Alright."

Heh. Kyouya wasn't sure he would have been able to admit to being terrible at the piano. Tamaki's awkwardness might just have been his saving grace. "Hm. Perhaps we should see about having breakfast prepared before everyone else wakes up."

Haruhi reached out for Senpai's hand unconsciously, nodding her approval at the idea. Her fingers brushed his, until she realized he might not want to incriminate himself with the club like this. She pulled away, throwing a, "Come on, Tamaki-Senpai. We should eat," over her shoulder. He had been frozen to his spot until they left the room, which immediately woke him up enough to run after them.

What an interesting morning this was turning out to be...

The storm from last night now clear, he'd managed to pull a few house servants out here to get some work done for them, such as cooking. He ensured that the kitchen was in order before seating his guests.

Hikaru yawned, legs curled under him at the breakfast table. He'd groggily been pulled out of bed by Kaoru, claiming everyone was at breakfast already, but 'everyone' hadn't been here for a few minutes. That was a few minutes he could have been sleeping.

Kyouya-Senpai, Tamaki-Senpai, and Haruhi had all come in at the same time, the Boss looking particularly flustered. He prodded Kaoru. "Whatd'ya think _they've_ been doing so early?" He snorted softly. "Haruhi looks a little out of breath."

It was always sex with that brother of his, wasn't it? "How long have _yo__u_ guys been up?" he asked. It was especially odd to be awake before Kyouya.

"Not terribly long," he replied.

After an initial struggle that lasted about ten minutes, Mori managed to get Huni tot he table, as well, most of his violent impulses quelled before leaving the room. "Good morning!" he greeted brightly.

Haruhi smiled at him. The only two that had never given her any problems. "Morning, Huni-Senpai. Mori-Senpai." She grinned at both seniors before sitting down. Her stomach growled loudly.

"Woah-ho, Haruhi!" Hikaru laughed, the sleep being shaken off like a wet dog, "Kill the bear sound effects, will ya?"

Kaoru's stomach seemed to growl in reply. He chuckled sheepishly. "Anyway, did you sleep okay. Haruhi? I don't think I coulda slept well with this pervert across the hall from me." He hooked a thumb in Tamaki's direction.

Even just having sat, Tamaki sprang from his seat to defend himself. "HEY! I'm no pervert!" His eyes welled up with the giant tears he favored the most. "Nothing happened, right Haruhi? I was a perfect gentleman!"

Haruhi took a sip of her tea. "Well, you blindfolded me after bursting into my place of hiding."

Place of hiding? Kaoru wondered what that meant. "Just remember to keep your door locked next time."

Breakfast played out as their days always seemed to. The twins teasing Tamaki over Haruhi, Kyouya being annoyed by it, Haruhi not caring. It was all so very normal.

Tamaki almost wore himself out trying to reconcile himself. The club members all had lives to start again today, so they disbanded to pack before leaving. He moped in the foyer, drawing circles on the floor with his toes.

Haruhi packed her little bag quickly, comparing the packing list to the repacking list a few times to make sure she wouldn't forget anything. (Though really, it probably didn't matter, as this _was_ Senpai's other house.)

Kyouya liked to keep all of his things together, rather than gathering them all at the end of the trip, and as such was ready to leave in a flash. He carried his bag at his side as he joined Tamaki in the foyer. "According to the feedback on the forums, it seems the weekend was a success, despite certain circumstances.

Tamaki sighed, mumbling about not being a pervert. Kyouya believed him, right?

Haruhi abandoned the house for the car, looking from Senpai to the pointing King and rolled her eyes. Tamaki-Senpai better straighten up; Senpai was going to get angry with him soon.

Kyouya offered half-hearted placations on his way out to the car, 'Of course I believe you,' 'Yes, yes, you're a wonderful person,' 'No, Haruhi doesn't hate you, would you please stop that?' He was going to enjoy being home.

Haruhi was beginning to wonder if this is what she sounded like to Senpai. Having to reassure someone like this was definitely more annoying than she realized. When he'd finally placated Tamaki-Senpai enough, they waved goodbye and slid into the car. She put a hand on his back. "Sorry you had to deal with that, Senpai. I think you did a good job, though."

"You did well, yourself," he replied. He let his head fall back against his seat. "All weekend."

She rolled her eyes. "Thanks," _I guess_. "We'll have to postpone swimming then, eh?"

"Hm, give yourself some time to recover," he replied. "That aside, we've yet to explore that musical talent of yours."

She didn't know if 'talent' was the right word, but nodded anyway. "You know piano, Senpai?"

"Unfortunately, no," he replied. Ah, his weakness. Like a stab in the chest. "But I'm certain I could find you a suitable teacher, if you're interested."

Something Senpai couldn't do? That was fascinating, in it's own way. "Really? Uh, if you think I should, Senpai. Would the lessons be demanding? I'm still trying not to fall behind in school."

"Anyway," she reasoned, "I'd like to have swimming lessons soon. If you don't mind. I'd hate to make you have to jump in after me again."

"Well, I certainly hope you don't intend to put yourself in a similar situation any time soon," he replied as he adjusted his glasses. The thought of it made him somewhat uncomfortable. "Then we'll start after school tomorrow."

She snorted. "I don't intend to take up residence on a cliff, if that's what you mean." She settled back against the seat. "Alright. Swimming or piano?" In the discussion, she'd missed what he meant now.

"Swimming is certainly a more practical skill," he replied. It might have had a little bit to do with his pride. It might be somewhat embarrassing if she grew so skilled with an instrument he simply couldn't master. "The exercise might be good for you, as well."

Instinctively pulling in on herself, she glanced over her body. Maybe he held back from her because she didn't look good enough. She wondered what she was supposed to look like. "Exercise," she said distantly, lost in thought, "alright."

Kyouya fell quiet again. With such an eventful weekend, he felt he should at least say _someth__ing _about_..._ He was, unfortunately, unsure of how to order his thoughts.

She, lost in thought, fell quiet. The ride wasn't horribly long, but long enough to doze off for a while, which she eventually did.

"We're home," he said softly. Even though she did seem to be sleeping better as of late, he was still hesitant to wake her at times. Perhaps it had something to do with how beautiful she looked in her sleep...

She opened her eyes begrudgingly, lifting her head up lazily. When she noticed Senpai, she smiled, yawning. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be tired." She reached out, stretching her arms. "Did you sleep?"

"A bit," he replied. It was simply to easy to fall asleep back here when the weather was warm. He opened the door for her. "It might be a bit more comfortable inside."

She scooted out, still a bit drowsy, scooping her bag at the last minute. "Good. We did have a long day yesterday. "Do you have a lot of business to attend to today?" It was still pretty early in the day.

"I still have some expenses to take care of from this weekend," he replied. "Nothing urgent."

She nodded, quietly slipping her hand through his. They entered the house, only to be stopped by a maid. She bowed. "Good day, Ootori-San, Fujioka. Ootori-Sama would like to see you, Ootori-San."

"I'm sure he would," Kyouya muttered. "Make yourself comfortable, Haruhi. I'll be back." He straightened out his buttons, running a hand through his hair. He marched to his father's office once more.

Haruhi watched him leave, wondering what Ootori-Sama could want. Nothing good, she could imagine. She took a deep breath, sitting down to wait.

Yoshio heard the footfalls before the knock sounded. "Come in, Kyouya." He didn't pause his work.

Kyouya pushed the door open. "You requested my presence?" he asked as he strode into the room.

He stood in front of the man's desk. He still didn't know what to expect from the man, but he was not longer afraid.

"There's a charity event coming up. I'd like you to attend," he said, signing with a flourish.

Oh, was that it? "Of course, Father. I am expected to attend every year, am I not?"

"This is a different one, Kyouya." He looked up at his son with a taste of disdain, "Obviously, this isn't the correct time of year for our customary function. You'll need a date."

"I see," he replied. "Am I to choose my own, or have you already selected one for me?"

He smirked. "I would choose a suitable match, but I can't imagine your girl contented with that." He folded his hands. "However, I do have a few stipulations."

Kyouya's eyebrow rose. "And what might those be?"

"You are entirely too intimate with that girl for it to not be noticed at the function; therefore, if you are to bring her, you would either present her as your girlfriend, or fiance, or you would present her as a woman you hired to be your date." He raised an eyebrow curiously. It would be socially demeaning to engage in the latter, but he was undecided on if Kyouya would be so bold to do the former.

'Fiance' was far to extreme. However, if she had to pose as his girlfriend to get a taste of the culture she was one day going to be a part of, then so be it. "Is that my only restriction?"

He leaned forward slightly. "Suoh's son will be there. Make sure he is entertained. Dance with his date, let him dance with yours. Make him happy." His glasses caught the sunlight. "Your brothers will be attending, also."

Suddenly, he wasn't so certain this would be wise. "And if I should choose to bring someone other than Haruhi?"

He leaned back. Interesting. "Then I'm sure you would be able to avoid suspicion with someone else. What I said about Tamaki Suoh would be the same, however."

"Very well," he replied. "Is that all you had to say to me today?"

He considered the question. He was half-tempted to give more directions about the girl, but he held off. Even though the relationship was much too much for his son to handle, it was an interesting dynamic. "No, go. The function is in two nights."

"Very well. Good day, Father." He gave him a bow, before exiting the room. He supposed he would have to talk to Haruhi about this.

He set down his work. The dance would be a very telling night, indeed.

Haruhi was playing with her shirt when she heard him coming. Her eyes snapped up, apprehensive. "Senpai?"

"I'm back," he answered. "Is there a problem?"

She stood. "Depending on what your father said. Is everything alright?"

"Nothing is wrong, yet," he replied. "We have some things we need to discuss, however."

She held her bag in both hands. "Okay. Should we talk now? We could go to your room." It was almost lunchtime, anyway, and Akito-Sama might be home. She didn't like being out in the halls for longer than necessary.

"I think that would be best." The sooner they got this figured out, the better he would feel. He led her back to the bedroom, closing the door behind him and twisting the lock. The last thing he needed right now was for Akito to barge in.

She stowed her bag under the couch, perching on it and looking up at him. She didn't say anything, but her face clearly read, _So?_

"I am expected to attend a charity ball soon," he began. "My intention was to take you. However. My brothers will be there. You may be expected to dance with them, as well."

Her face had moved into expressionless. Did this have to do with the exercise thing? "Who will you take, then?"

"I haven't decided," he replied. "My point is, would you be comfortable in that situation?"

She didn't like Akito, obviously. And she'd never met Yuuichi, so she didn't know if she would be comfortable with him. She fiddled with her hands. "If you think it's okay, Senpai." She didn't know anything about these events other than what Senpai told her, so it only made sense to leave the decision to him. Plus, he could negate her attendance if she really was that disgusting without exercise.

He sighed. He only wished he could get a straight answer out of her from time to time. "This is your decision, Haruhi. I'm not going to put you into a situation with him if you don't feel you could handle it."

She kicked at the carpet softly. "I think I could. But if there's a reason you don't want me to come," _Like if you don't want to be seen together..._ "then that's fine. I'm sure your father would be more comfortable seeing you with a lady of high standing, anyway." Or maybe he was ultra-protective? To the point where any other man seeing her just wasn't going to happen? She shrugged.

There was still the matter of Tamaki to consider. Would he understand? If he showed up with her, that is? Knowing him, his ridiculous 'daddy' complex would kick into overdrive at the mere thought. Or maybe it was time to just let himself admit to his feelings...

"If Akito tries anything, Tamaki and I will both be there."

She swung her legs onto the couch, folding them underneath her. "If that's what you want," she said, clasping her hands. "I'll need a dress, though." She frowned, the money a bit daunting. "If you don't mind lending me the money."

"Of course not," he replied. He rather liked the idea of dressing her up in a fine, overpriced dress. He could see it now, the finest silks, a cut specifically designed to flatter her features, waltzing about the room with her natural grace. He pictured this quite often, he realized.

She finally cracked a smile, happy to hear how relaxed he sounded. "I guess it's a good thing we practiced my dancing today, eh? Hopefully I won't make you look bad when I dance with anyone else, Senpai." She leaned back against the cushions.

"No, I think you'll do just fine," he replied. And it was true. He would never have guessed that she'd had no formal training before his instruction. As long as she wasn't stuck with anyone completely tone deaf, he was sure she would do very well.

"I guess I should try to find a dress, then. Can I borrow your car, Senpai?" She grinned; her life was so different now than before. Borrowing a car. She was so spoiled.

Oh, so she wanted to do this alone, did she? Interesting. "Very well," he replied. He pulled his wallet out of his pocket, pulling out a few large notes. "You'll want some shoes that you can dance in, as well."

She clutched the money possessively. "I'll remember. Do I need to check with you before I buy anything?"

He was tempted to say yes. After all, with her experience, how would she know what was fashionable and appropriate for such an event? However, she did seem rather pleased with the idea of doing this herself.

"Only if you're unsure of your choice," he replied.

She nodded, standing again. "You'll be home when I get back?" She knew this was a bit stupid, as she'd have his car, but the thought of Akito and no Senpai was daunting.

"Of course," he replied. "I'll be in my study."

She nodded, pulling on her jacket. "Thank you, Senpai. I promise I won't look too horrible." She mimicked his trademark smirk for an instant.

He had to admit, she as quite charming with that smirk. He returned the gesture. "I don't think you could if you tried," he replied.

She flushed a bit, touching his arm a bit before leaving the room. After calling the driver, she dialed the Hitachiin's number.

The sound of Haruhi's ringtone brought Kaoru to his feet in a instant. Tactlessly, he reached into his brother's pocket to retrieve the phone. "Hey. Haruhi!" He greeted cheerfully. "What's up?"

Hikaru reacted, pulling at the phone. "Let me hear, too!"

She rolled her eyes. "I was kind of wondering," she paused, "Um, if you could help me pick out a new dress, Kaoru."

Hikaru guffawed. "Kaoru? My taste in color is _way_ more suited for your coloring, Haruhi."

Kaoru snorted. "We have the same taste in color." He gave his brother a bop on the head. He was, admittedly, a little flattered that she asked him, specifically. He wondered what that meant, exactly. "I'd love to help you, Haruhi! Come on over! I bet my mom's got a ton of hot prototypes you could try out!"

She started a bit, then rolled her eyes at herself. She'd been thinking shopping somewhere, but if he thought there was something she'd like... "Alright. Now's alright?"

Hikaru was a bit offended. "I could help too, you know."

"Sure!" he replied. "You know how to get here, right? Or should I send someone to pick you up?"

"No, I'm good. I'll be over soon." She flipped the phone closed, avoiding a long goodbye, and leaned up to tell the driver where to take her. She was a bit nervous, all things considered, but she was determined. And Senpai needed to _love_ it.

Kaoru hung up the phone with a grin. "A dress, huh? What do you think Haruhi wants with a fancy dress?" He prodded at his brother with his elbow.

Hikaru rolled his eyes, pissed. "Who cares?" He was secretly curious, but much too annoyed. "Besides, only_ you _get to help her."

"Oh, come on." Kaoru rolled his eyes. "She doesn't care if you help. She only asked me 'cause I picked up the phone first." He wasn't completely sure whether that was true or not, but... Well, he didn't want his brother getting jealous.

Hikaru stood, "Well, I'll just have to leave you two LOVEBIRDS alone then, huh? I'm going to get something to eat." He stalked away.

What's his problem? Whatever. He'd probably goad it out of him before bed tonight. He scurried off to his mother's studio to get things set up for Haruhi.

The car pulled up to the house within a few minutes, making Haruhi wonder if all rich people lived this close together. She looked out at the house, thinking how it matched the twins perfectly; fashionable and a bit high-and-mighty looking. She got out, going to knock on the door.

Kaoru didn't think much of pushing the butler aside to get the door himself. He greeted her with a trademark Cheshire grin, somewhat less unnerving without it's exact duplicate at his side. "Hey! Come on in!" He reached out for her wrist.

"Ah! I, uh, hi, Kaoru." She let herself be pulled along. "Sorry to spring this on you."

"What? Nah! I love this kinda stuff!" He stopped suddenly. "Oh, hey, this is the first time you've been to our house, isn't it? Welcome!"

She looked around. "Thanks. Did you help design it?" It would explain a lot. She couldn't imagine anyone else thinking the same way as these two would.

"Heh, yeah, but that was a long time ago," he replied. He still loved the place, though. "We also helped design a lot of the dresses I picked for you!" He pushed open the door to the studio, which was lined wall-to-wall with elegantly dressed mannequins.

Her eyes widened. "Um, wow." She stepped up to look around at all the choices. She'd had an idea before, but it had been vague. (She'd wanted something pretty) "Where do we start?"

"Well, that depends," Kaoru began, a hint of devious curiosity slipping into his voice. "What's the dress for?"

She fingered the material of one of them. "Uh, oh. Just a dance. Would this color even look good on me?"

Kaoru looked between her and the dress. "Naw, you're more of an autumn." He took her by the shoulders, steering her in the direction of some warmer, deeper colors. "What sort of party? Formal? Business casual? Will it be during the day, or the evening? Indoors or out?"

This was a bit overwhelming. "Uhhh, formal, evening, indoors? Does that all really matter?"

"You'd be surprised," Kaoru answered, taking a bit of fabric between his fingers to give it a feel. "You can't wear a sundress to an indoor formal, Haruhi!" He said it as though it were painfully obvious. He began pulling a few dresses from the mannequins. "Here, try these on!" He handed her an armful, indicating the changing screen across the room.

She stumbled over to the room, the dresses heavier than she'd expected, and set them all down. Pulling on the first dress, she zipped it and raised an eyebrow. Was it supposed to dip down so far in the front? "Kaoru, can you look at this?" She had _no_ idea of what looked good.

"Ch, yeah, that's the whole point!" He peered around the changing screen to check things out. "Hm. I like the shape, I just don't know if the neckline suits you." He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Try the red one, next!" He took a few steps back.

It took her three more tries until she found one that stopped her. "Kaoru, I like this one." It was a royal green, the front was embellished with ruffles, which didn't look as childish as she'd expected, and the back dipped down dramatically.

He peeked around the screen once more. He let out a two-note whistle. "Wow, Haruhi. It looks so natural on you!" He came around, tugging at the fabric around her hips a bit. "We might need to take it in a little, though." He pondered aloud.

She frowned at her reflection. Maybe the exercise would help fill her out? "I don't know how to do that," she admitted, a bit peeved that this dress wouldn't work for such a stupid reason. "Are there any others like it smaller?"

"Of course not." Kaoru replied. "All of these dresses are one of a kind. Wait one minute! I'll take it in for you!" He scampered off to gather the altering kit.

She brightened, turning back to her reflection. The color brought out her coloring, didn't it? After seeing all these dresses, she was a bit more understanding of what he'd meant by matching to specific people's colors. "Thanks," she smiled to him when he came back, "This means a lot to me."

He soon returned, with a pin cushion full of needles and a sharp pair of scissors. "Sure." He said with a grin. "You're gonna have to put it on inside out, okay?"

He stood on the opposite side of the screen while she changed. "So, Haruhi. Why are you going to a fancy party, anyways? There's nothing scheduled for the club or anything."

She zipped up the dress awkwardly. "Senpai has a party. I think Tamaki-Senpai has to go too. Some charity thing."

"Oh, right." So, Kyouya-senpai was taking Haruhi to a party? "Are you and Kyouya-senpai..." He trailed off, not quite sure how he wanted to finish this sentence.

She stretched her neck, the ruffles tickling her. "Yes. He had to take a date anyway though, it's perfectly natural."

"Ah, right. I gotcha," Kaoru replied with a nod. The more he thought he understood about the situation, the more odd facts came up. "So, it's officially a date, then?"

Frowning, she looked down at him. "Why would he take me on a date?" He was her _master_, of all things. It didn't matter how nice he was. Though, come to think of it, hadn't he asked her to some other party a while ago? "I mean, it's not like I'm anything special to him..."

"Really?" Kaoru cocked his head as he began pinning up the sides of the dress for her. "I mean, you live at his house, he buys all your lunches. And he almost broke his glasses going in after you yesterday..." Granted, Kaoru would have done the same, but... Well, he wished there was something special for him, anyways.

She flushed quickly, trying not to stammer. "Well..." Huh. He slept with her most nights, too. And there were the handful of times she'd been undressed in the same room with him, completely comfortable. He'd even given her a massage. And a bath. "I guess he cares for me. But I'm not like, his girlfriend or anything." It was almost funny. Senpai would never want something so mundane, even superfluous.

"So, you guys are just... What?" He carefully clipped away the excess fabric. "Friends?"

"What else?" Friends. Hadn't she used the same word before for him? "Anyway, does it matter?"

"Huh? Oh, it doesn't!" Kaoru waved a dismissive hand, giving her an innocent smile. "I was just chatting, I guess. All I need to do now is sew up the sides, and the dress is yours."

"I can pay, you know." She had the money in her bag, ready to go.

"Nah, don't worry about it." He waved her off again. "It looks so good on you, like you were meant to wear it!"

She looked back to the mirror. Good? Whatever. "Well, thank you. Not to bug you, but would you want to come shoe shopping after this? I can't dance in my school shoes."

"Oh, of course," Kaoru replied. He couldn't help but feel a little guilty, though. Spending so much time with Haruhi while Hikaru was out pouting. His loss, he guessed. "I'll get the car ready."

She grinned, thanking him and going to change back into her own clothes. Her other clothes. Whatever.

Hikaru wandered in the halls, trying not to look jealous. Haruhi came out a minute later, seeing him. "Hikaru, we're going shopping. Do you wanna come?"

He rolled his eyes. "No."

"Alright," she said, turning towards the door.

"But I will anyway, because you guys wouldn't be able to pick anything good without me." He caught up with her, swaggering to show his disdain.

"Yeah, it was a nightmare picking the dress," Kaoru replied, sticking his tongue out at his brother. "Come one. Maybe we can stop for ice cream on the way!"

If Kyouya got to have a date without being her boyfriend, so could Kaoru.

She perked up. "Is ice cream good?" Hikaru led them to the car, opening the door for them despite his annoyance.

Kaoru furrowed his eyebrows. "I know commoners miss out on a lot, but you have to have had ice cream before!"

She realized her slip. They didn't know of her giant chunk of missing experiences. "I, uh, was a picky eater? We can stop only if you guys want to, though."

Hikaru rolled his eyes. "_All_ kids try ice cream, Haruhi. That's dumb."

And she didn't know how to count money. She must have had a really weird childhood. "Yeah, that's fine! You gotta try at least a bite." He leaned forward to give some extra instructions tot he driver.

Haruhi sat back into the seat. "Okay. How will I know to match the shoes, Kaoru? I don't know if I should bring it in..."

Hikaru huffed. "Well you have a phone, right? Jeez, just take a picture."

"I saved some of the fabric scraps, too, so we can look at them under the same lighting." Kaoru pulled the clippings from the fitting out of his pocket. "You know, I think you could use some contrasting accessories, too."

She hadn't spent any money yet, so she shrugged. "If you say so. Like necklaces and stuff?" She reached up to touch her ear. "But my ears aren't pierced, so I can't do earrings."

Kaoru resisted the urge to be outraged that she hadn't had her ears pierced yet. There was something so alluring about a girl with classy, dangling earrings...

"Yeah, we'll get some jewelry. And maybe a nice belt."

She shrugged, fiddling with her phone. It had been a while since she'd left the house, and half wondered what Senpai was up to. "If we can find some nice stuff to match, sure." She opened a blank text, quickly typing to Senpai. _How's your work going?_

"But the first stop is the ice cream shop!" Kaoru made sure to point out. As usual, they were just pulling into the parking lot of the place. "Come on! You can get whatever flavor you want."

She sent it, looking around at their destination. Hikaru had even brightened up. "Come on, Haruhi. You've gotta try the chocolate!"

Kyouya had just finished his finance reports when his phone buzzed, indicating a new message. He picked it up, glancing over the message. _I've just finished up, _he replied._ Have you found anything you like yet?_

Kaoru offer Haruhi a menu. "Here! You can get anything you want!"

She considered the menu carefully. "I... don't know. Hikaru, what are you getting?"

He flushed, still frowning. "Whatever I want! I'll just order us two, okay?"

Kaoru shook his head at the two lovebirds. "I'm getting strawberry. If we all get something different, you can try all of them."

She checked her phone, "Okay, get me... that one," she said, jabbing down on a random one. _Yes. Kaoru had something really nice he's letting me have. We're about to get ice cream then go shopping. Is it okay if I stay o__ut for a while longer?_

Hikaru watched her text heatedly. She never texted _him _like that!

_So long as the twins are with __you,_ he replied. He didn't like them very much, but it was better having her wander around on her own for a few hours. He was still a bit gun-shy about that.

A few minutes later, the peppy lady behind the counter offered them their ice cream cones. Haruhi ended up with what seemed like a very elaborate version of Rocky Road.

She stared at it, holding it awkwardly, like you would dirty underwear, "How do you eat this?" she asked finally, looking up at the twins.

"Seriously?" Kaoru asked. He wasn't completely buying it. He demonstrated, giving the pile of ice cream a good lick. "Like that!" He licked a bit of the excess off his lips.

Hikaru leaned forward a tad, staring with a fierce intensity. Her tongue darted out to try it hesitantly, and he almost went into shock from all the blood that had vacated his body and fled to his face.

"It's... pretty good," she decided, going back to lick again, harder this time for maximum ice cream consumption.

"See? I told you!" Kaoru reclined in his chair, taking a few more healthy mouthfuls over his ice cream. Hikaru's face was priceless.

About three licks in, she paused, whipping out her phone. She switched it to camera mode, hovering it next to the ice cream to snap a picture.

Hikaru tried to get his mouth into motion again. "Wh-what are you doing, Haruhi?" Most people don't document their consumption, at least.

"Just wanted to show this to someone," she responded vaguely, pressing send and returning to her treat. "Because it's so good."

"You mean Kyouya-Senpai?" Kaoru asked. He'd bet Kyouya-Senpai would buy her a whole tub of the stuff if she asked. But they weren't involved or anything.

She grinned, shrugging. "Does it matter? I could be showing Huni-Senpai; you know how into his sweets he gets."

"Or you could be getting defensive over nothing," he replied. "I don't really care. I was just asking."

Hikaru elbowed his brother. "Anyway, we're glad you like it, Haruhi." So glad. Completely glad. This was the best purchase he'd ever made, just getting to watch her eat it. Enjoy it! He meant enjoy it!

She went back to her ice cream, concentrating on the chunks hidden inside, glancing at her phone every few seconds to see if Senpai had responded. He _was_ doing business though, she knew she should understand.

Kyouya looked at his phone. They certainly seemed to be treating her well. It was always a pleasure to see her acting like a normal, teenaged girl. _First time trying ice cream, isn't it?_ He wasn't much a fan of sweets, but if he got to watch Haruhi eat ice cream, he might just convert.

She warmed at her phone lighting up, greedily sucking in the words. "Hey," she said, looking up at the two, "Wanna take a picture, all together?"

Hikaru paused, his tongue halfway to the ice cream. "All of us?"

They really didn't have enough pictures with just the three of them, did they? "Sure, Haruhi." He waved over one of the ladies wiping the tables to ask her to take the picture.

Haruhi set up the camera, looking up the Hikaru. "Well? Aren't you coming?"

He blushed grudgingly, and mumbled, "Yeah, yeah." He moved to her side of the table, crouching down next to her.

Kaoru mirrored his brother on the other side, offering the camera a big grin.

The girl snapped it, handing it back for them to look. Haruhi grinned widely; "It looks good. Thank you!" She smiled at each of the twins before going to work making it a picture message. _It's pretty yummy, even with these goofs, too._

She seemed to be getting along with other members of the club. He'd never thought too hard on that until recently. He wanted her to have some friends, aside from himself. If his father ever did decide to split them up, she would need a strong network to support her. This was a good thing.

She finished her cone, sighing happily. "That was delicious. Thank you," she dipped her head slightly. "Are you guys ready to go?"

Hikaru had long ago given up on the dessert in favor of watching Haruhi eat hers. "Yup." He said, snapping himself out of his daze.

"Yeah, sure." Kaoru replied. He rose from his chair, finishing up the last few, crunchy bits of ice cream cone. "You've at least been to the mall before, right?"

She brightened a bit. "Yes! I was there once shopping." Her face turned a bit serious. "It's big. You'll know where to go, right?"

"Oh, yeah." Kaoru opened the door for her. "We'll show you all the best places to hit!"

Not to be outdone, Hikaru hurriedly offered a hand out. "And all the best things to get for your dress! You're going to a party?"

She accepted the hand, almost not remembering this _wasn't_ Senpai, and had to retract from sliding her hand into his. "Yeah. Some charity thing."

"She's going with Kyouya," Kaoru explained. Maybe his brother could make more sense of this situation. "You know, the one the boss was talking about a few days ago?" He led her into that great big mall, which seemed even busier than last time.

She froze a bit, the volume of people overwhelming for a moment. She gathered herself quickly, reminding her mind that she'd gone shopping (briefly) without Senpai before.

Hikaru raised an eyebrow. "With Kyouya-senpai? What, are you two finally official?"

She caught up the step she'd lost, frowning. "Official whats?"

"Nah, there's nothing 'special' going on between them," Kaoru echoed her earlier words. Nope, they still didn't make any sense. "Anyways, this shop over here has the highest quality jewelry!"

They led her into the shop, which was a whole new sensory experience for Haruhi. She stopped a few steps in, just looking around, like the first time a four-year-old steps into Toys-R-Us.

Hikaru looked back, noticing her overwhelmed expression. "Haruhi, are you okay? Come look at some of this stuff over here!"

She wandered over, still very distracted. "Guys, isn't this a bit... expensive?"

Kaoru shrugged. "Nah, it's usually priced pretty good for the quality." He replied. "Kyouya probably gave you a lot to spend anyways, right?" Where else would she have come up with, well, any money at all?

Hikaru glowered. Kyouya-Senpai was giving her lots of money, now? It was getting so obvious it was painful.

She shrugged noncommittally. "I didn't want to spend _all_ of it, if I don't have to. Isn't there something simple? Like, a simple necklace or something?"

Kaoru sighed. "Come on, you want to look good, right?" He motioned to a display case full of necklaces.

She stared down at them, pointing at one with a single jewel on it. "I like this one." She turned to Kaoru. "Don't you? I think it would look pretty with my dress."

He tilted his head, visualizing it. "Yeah, I think that one would be perfect." He called for the salesmen. He gave them a number that might have sounded ridiculous to any commoner who better understood the value of money. "Excellent! We'll take it!"

She frowned, the price much too high for her taste, (which was to save _all_ the money and pay Senpai back), and cleared her throat. "I'm sorry, you wouldn't be able to give me that for any lower?"

Hikaru rolled his eyes. She was trying to barter? He was about to interject that none of these high-end shops did crap like that, when the shop keeper raised an eyebrow and began bartering. Even if he didn't budge much, she knocked enough off to buy lunch or something. When they walked out, Haruhi holding a bag tightly in her hand, he elbowed her lightly. "Way to go, commoner shopping!"

She grinned, very pleased with herself. "Thanks. It just seemed like something Sen- It seemed the smartest thing to do."

Kaoru was kind of impressed. "I didn't even know you could do stuff like that here. You're pretty cool, Haruhi." Oh, he'd almost forgotten about the shoes. "But we're not done yet!"

She nodded, turning with them towards the next stop. Hikaru was babbling about something, and she was trying to make sense of all the faces at once when she spotted someone across the way. "Uh, guys, I'll be right back," she said, taking off quickly to catch him.

Hikaru looked up to see her hurrying away. "Rude," he spouted, stopping to wait.

"Arai-San!"

He turned, not recognizing the pretty brunette waving him down. He stopped, expression expectant. "Hello," he offered, unsure why this person knew him.

Wow. He didn't even seem to recognize her. "It's me, Arai-San." She motioned to herself. "It's been a while."

He stared for a second. Suddenly, it clicked. "Haruhi?" He ventured, squinting a bit. "Haruhi!" His face lit up, "It's so good to see you! You look wonderful."

She gave him a smile wider than he'd ever seen on her. "Thank you. It's really good to see you, too." She almost wanted to hug him, but she still wasn't quite sure what the protocol was for other people. "What are you doing here?"

He shrugged apologetically. "Eh, my brother was complaining about the food in the house." He couldn't quite call it 'home', exactly. "Hey, I'm really sorry about... well, about what he did." Well, this sure brought back memories!

She broke eye contact, staring at her feet. "It wasn't your fault, Arai-San," she replied. She rubbed at her arms, prickling with gooseflesh at the thought.

He stepped a bit closer. "Hey, it's over now, right?" His tone was still trying to be light, but it was laden with guilt. He could have stopped so much of her trauma before... That couldn't be changed now, though. "And Ootori-San seems like a pretty good guy."

She tried to focus on something else. "You've met Senpai?" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows perplexedly.

He nodded, grinning again. "Yeah, we're pretty much old pals by now. He treats you right, then?"

She nodded emphatically. "Yeah. He's... he's really great." She only wished she could make up for all the trouble she caused him.

Arai smiled, putting his hand on her head. She'd been gaining weight, he could tell. Plus, her skin was healthy-looking, her eyes awake for once. This Ootori guy was obviously good for her, she even seemed to be in good spirits. "I'm glad. You deserve it, Haruhi," he said, seriously. "You know you can call me if you need anything, right?" It was mostly an empty promise; he wouldn't want to alert his brother of her existence again in any sense, but he really did want her to be happy and cared for.

"Thank you." She said, with a bit of a nostalgic smile. "You know, we should hang out more often. I mean, if you can..."

He pulled out his cell phone. "We can exchange numbers, at the least. I'd love to hang out sometime, if that's alright with Ootori. Here, put your number in here, I'll text you."

She beamed, whipping out her own cell phone to offer him. The thought briefly passed through her mind that Senpai might not want her giving her number out... But then he seemed to be giving her a lot of freedom lately, right? She punched in her number.

It really did feel good to talk with him again.

He texted her a smiley face, handing her back the phone. "It's been great to see you," he said seriously. "I have to get shopping, but you be careful, alright?"

She nodded. "I will. Thank you, Arai-San." She watched him leave.

Well, that was a nice little surprise.

Hikaru sighed dramatically. "What is TAKING her so long?" he asked, huffing, chin in hands.

Haruhi had found them again easily. "Hey guys. Sorry about that."

"What's up?" Kaoru asked. He wasn't aware she had friends outside of school, to be honest. But he'd never seen that guy before, and hadn't really heard any of the conversation from where he was.

She shrugged noncommittally. "Eh, nothing. Just wanted to say hi to an old friend. Are you ready to finish this shopping?"

"Yeah, sure," Kaoru replied, already forgetting about the mystery kid. "Hey, you wanna just go back to our house for dinner?"

She paused, considering for a second. "Eh, no. Thanks, though. I'm kinda tired still from the beach and want to turn in early tomorrow." Hikaru strung his arm through hers.

"What a baby," he teased.

"Be nice, Hikaru," Kaoru repeated the gesture. "You could always sleep over, you know."

Nonononono, _not_ happening. "Uh, no thanks. I miss my own bed." The one with Senpai. Oh yeah, she'd asked for her own room, hadn't she? Screw that. Well, maybe at least for tonight.

Kaoru chuckled. "I was kidding." Mostly. "Don't worry, we'll get you home before curfew or whatever."

She really was kind of tired (despite the nap earlier). She picked shoes quickly, just wanting to go _home_. "Can you guys drop me off? Would you mind?" she asked, sliding into the car.

"That should be fine." Kaoru replied, relaying the instructions to the driver. He chattered merrily at her for the duration of the car trip.

She'd texted Senpai a few minutes before they arrived, letting him know she was on her way. Gathering up the bags from the mall, her bag, and the bagged dress, she turned to the twins contentedly. "Thanks for everything today. I had fun."

Hikaru waved it off. "Eh, whatever. See you tomorrow morning, Haruhi."

"Bye, Haruhi." Kaoru waved with a grin. "Let's do this again sometime!"

She waved, trudging into the mansion heavily. Senpai hadn't texted back, so she began trekking to his room to find him.

He had recently moved from his study back into his room. He'd finished up his expense reports, and of course moved on to some other productive use of his time, like reading those complicated books of his. He looked up from his book. "Ah, welcome home."

She grinned, setting down her things on the couch before running over to him for a hug. "Hello!" she greeted, her face in his shoulder. She began to say she missed him, but settled for squeezing her arms tightly around his waist. "How was your afternoon?"

"Quite uneventful, I'm afraid," he replied as he wrapped his arms around her in return. "I take it you had a good time?"

She pulled her face away to look up for his eyes. "Yes. I tried ice cream. Do you like ice cream, Senpai?"

It was kind of a silly question, seeing as how she'd never seen him eat a sweet, but she liked feeling his breath on her skin. Silly, yes. Clingy, probably. Satisfying? To the Nth degree.

"I do enjoy it in small amounts from time to time," he replied, once halfway unintentionally breathing on her neck.

She watched his expression shift slightly, his breath tickling her a little. "Senpai, wait until you see my new dress. I think you're going to love it."

He grinned at her. "I must admit, I'm very eager. I don't suppose you would be willing too try it on for me?"

She danced her fingers along his back playfully. "I could. Or we could wait and make it a surprise." She smiled innocently up at him, inclined to try it on now herself. "How about now?" She decided, pulling away.

"You can't mean to keep me in suspense that long, can you?" He reached up to catch her fingers.

She laughed, letting her hands be captured and moved them together in circles. "Well, you'll still have to wait for me to change. Can you hold off that long? It might be as long as four or five minutes, Senpai!" She feigned shocked and horror at the thought.

"I shall suffer in silence," he replied, with just a pinch of false melodrama.

Her hands wiggling out of the embrace, she shot him one last smile over her shoulder before scooping up the dress and locking herself into the bathroom. Her clothes piled up neatly on the counter, she slid into the dress carefully, wiggling her hips to get it to sit like Kaoru had wanted. As she slid the zipper up slowly, she watched it pull in to draw quite a bit more focus to her lower half than she'd realized. In this dress, she thought, turning to look behind her in the mirror, her hips looked normal. The back scooped down, hugging her curves perfectly, to her mid-back. She spun around in it, looking at it this way and that before calling out, "Senpai! Are you ready?"

"More than ready," he replied.

He really needed to stop that.

She pushed open the door slowly, suddenly nervous. He thought she needed exercise, after all; maybe he wouldn't like it. She twiddled her thumbs, remembering only a second after to twirl around to show off the whole creation. "It looks okay, I think, you know, for a dress."

Kyouya's eye slide over her form, drinking in the sight. He had to hand it to those twins. They knew who to dress a lady. Unusual as it was to see her like this, it suited her so very well. It accentuated her femininity, adding such grace to her whole tone. He let out a quiet, wistful sigh.

"I'll be the luckiest man in the room."

She flushed madly. "Oh! So, you like it? I wasn't sure because it was... well, thank you." She ducked her head, embarrassed, "I'm glad you're happy."

"How do you like it?" he asked, circling her to take in the look from all angles once more. "I know it's a bit different from what you prefer."

Her head down, thumbs twirling quickly, she stuttered, "I like it. I mean, I'm only going because you asked me, so it doesn't really matter, right?" Her eyes darted up shyly. "Just that you like it." Her cheeks were burning with nerves. This dress made her feel like a proper lady. One you could introduce to parents without showing your deed of sale, though none of that really mattered. The only thing she cared about was that Senpai practically fell in love with the dress, because not only would that make him happy, but his father, too.

There she went speaking in code again. Oh well. He was going to assume that meant that yes, she liked the dress. "I do," he replied.

She smiled, hand reaching up to touch his lightly. "Good. Senpai, do you mind..." It was a bit embarrassing to ask, especially because he wasn't dressed up like she was, and the way he'd looked at... "Do you mind if we practice dancing? I don't want to trip and fall at the party." Minus the hell she'd pay if the twins found out she'd ripped the dress.

Would he mind? He would _love_ that. "Of course not," he replied. He crossed the room to his stereo, picking through his neatly organized CDs. "A waltz to start?"

She nodded jerkily, as it _was_ the only dance she knew. She waited for him to return, hands shaking slightly. Why was this any different than normal? It was Senpai, the person she'd lived with for a while now. She kept her eyes down, patiently.

He took her hand, confident that she could remember the position by now. "Can you count beats?" He asked, tapping a foot with the rhythm to help her out. "Three, two, one."

They began to dance.

She used the counts to keep her distracted enough to _not_ concentrate on Senpai's warm, firm, grip. She let her eyes wander to his face, simply enjoying seeing his eyes crinkle the least bit as she turned successfully. And she definitely wasn't thinking about his hand on her back. _Back, side, together, front, side, together..._

Kyouya's eyes never left her as they danced the night away, even moving into a little foxtrot from time to time, when the music allowed. He did hope she was enjoying herself as much as he was.

He really needed to stop doing this to himself. To her, as well. If they couldn't be together, why did he insist on acting like they could? Like they _were?_

She'd relaxed gradually, realizing that, like the piano music earlier, music was calming. It wasn't fair that Senpai wouldn't utilize her, it wasn't fair that she was much too low to compete for any long-lasting spot in his life, but she'd dealt with stupid facts of life (for her) before. This evening was what was happening now, and she was determined to avoid thinking of anything else, (past or future). The music lulled, and she slipped her hands away. "I think I've got it," she said, softly, not holding his hand anymore, but still playing with his fingers lightly. "Was that too much for one night?"

"Hardly," he replied. "Some formal balls can run long into the night. Endurance is a necessary trait." He allowed her soft fingers to trace his only a short moment, before pulling away. They had to stop. They really did.

She nodded a bit, mumbled something about changing and ducked into the bathroom. Emerging ready for bed a few minutes later, she crawled up onto the couch, perching there. Maybe she could start here. Not in the guest room. The guest room was daunting.

Kyouya stretched out, considering getting his pajamas on, as well. He couldn't help but notice she was still in his room. He didn't have the heart to correct her just yet. He left for the bathroom, quickly changing.

"Where will you be sleeping tonight?" he asked on his way out of the room.

She shifted, nuzzling under the blankets already there. "Is the couch alright?" She would add to her debt to not have to go any farther from Senpai. Changing rooms had been a horrible idea, hadn't it?

"That's fine," he replied. He understood. Perhaps a slow transition would make things easier for both of them. No need to sever every tie right away, after all. "Make yourself comfortable."

She fluffed the pillow, laying down, then restlessly pulling out her phone. "Thank you," she said distantly. The truth was that she didn't like how much she enjoyed sharing the bed with Senpai, so she kept quiet and went through her messages.

It still felt wrong, every time he curled up in bed without her. Just a little too cold, just a little too empty. He shook all of those foolish thoughts from his head. They were, after all, just friends. "Good night, Haruhi." He reached over to turn out his table lamp.

"Good night," she said, feeling as if they'd regressed back to that first night she'd spent here. "Wait, Senpai?"

He paused. "Yes, Haruhi?"

"Thank you for the dance. I-" She'd enjoyed it, she'd love another, she lov-

Wait, what?

"I mean, thank you."

"Of course," he replied. He'd had... a very good time. Yes. "Let's do it again some day." He shut off his light.

Night after next. She pulled the blankets tighter around her body, feeling oddly cold despite the adequate pile on top of her. "Alright," she agreed, sighing into her make-shift bed.

He felt like he should offer her something... What? A space beside him? No. They'd both agreed that it was better this way. She wasn't going to live with him forever, after all. The two of them needed to learn to stand alone again. "Goodnight," he whispered again.

She returned it, soft and mellow, and settled under the covers. It was hard getting comfortable though, especially once the flashbacks of Akito-San began coming hard and fast. Eventually, through hard turmoil and a good deal of time, she had fallen asleep counting down from a hundred.

Unfortunately, her dreams weren't any better, plaguing her through the night and awaking her in cold sweats a few times. She'd finally fallen into a deep, dreamless sleep around 4:30, only an hour before the alarm was set for.


	26. Wake Up

The next morning, Kyouya arose like any other morning. He told himself he would adapt. He'd gotten used to her so quickly, why shouldn't he be able to get used to not having her again? He shut off his alarm clock with a heavy hand. Getting up without her... it was still hard.

Finally in some kind of deep sleep, Haruhi didn't stir, even for the alarm clock. It had been too hard of a night to awake for such a stupid reason, her unconscious mind guffawed.

She got ready in the mornings fast enough that she could afford a few extra minutes sleep. He imagined sleeping on the couch hadn't permitted a very restful night's sleep. He changed, his mind wandering as he did.

The formal ball. He still had to talk to Tamaki about it. He was usually a good-natured man. Maybe he would understand...

She hadn't thought to set an alarm, as she'd never needed one before. She'd half-thought Senpai would just get her up with him in the morning, but getting _any_ sleep that night had been much more pressing. Besides, they hadn't been to school in a few days, making it harder for her body to adjust back to the correct timetable.

He eyed the clock. He supposed he was cutting it a little close. He leaned over the back of the couch, putting a soft hand on her shoulder. "Haruhi. It's time to get ready for school."

She moaned, snuggling deeper immediately. "Five more minutes," she begged groggily.

"I'm afraid you've already had your five extra minutes," he replied. He supposed he could ask the chauffeur to go just a bit over the speed limit, if need be.

She groaned, sleepily rubbing her eyes, which would probably look a bit bloodshot today. She opened them enough to see Senpai, flipping over to her back to enjoy the blanket for just _one_ more second. "Morning," she croaked.

She looked worse off than he'd expected. Well, perhaps she would sleep better in a proper bed. Of her own, that is. Tonight. "To offset the expenses of our weekend trip, club activities will be much more tame for the next few days." He hoped they were tame enough to give her time to recover.

Nodding, but not completely keeping any information when she was still so close to going straight back to sleep, she husked, "Thank you." Wow, was she obvious or what? She felt as if they'd written something across her forehead to alert anyone who saw her today that she'd fought men and monsters all night.

His face remained neutral, but a part of him felt inexplicably guilty about all of this. Maybe she wasn't ready for her own room yet. He just didn't know. He was no psychologist. "Are you well enough for school today?"

She sat up, too quickly, making herself a bit dizzy. "I'm fine," she assured, holding her head for a second. "I'll be okay."

"Very well," Kyouya replied, although he didn't sound terribly convinced. "If you still have trouble sleeping, I could get you a prescription."

She paused, considering that. "...What kind of prescription?" Drugs made her nervous, after Arai-Sama.

"Probably Ambien or some such," Kyouya replied. "It would help you fall asleep. Waking up might be harder, but you'll feel better during the day."

She sighed. Figuring out this kind of stuff was extremely taxing, especially on one good hour of sleep. "If you think it would help," she said after a second. She was going to have to learn to sleep without him eventually though, _and_ without a prescription.

"We'll see about getting something after school." He grabbed his book bag, hers as well. "Get dressed. We've got twenty minutes."

She crawled out of bed haltingly, rubbing her eyes desperately to wake up. She dressed quickly, a bit wobbly, and went out to find Senpai. "I'm ready," she said, her hair all but forgotten.

"Are you?" He reached out to smooth her hair down a bit. It didn't look so bad. He was sure the twins would fix it up for her as soon as they saw her. "Very well. Let's go."

Another quiet car ride. He almost wished the school was just a bit further away, if only to allow her some time to nap on the way there.

She'd nuzzled into his shoulder, wishing for his hand to go back to her hair. It was almost long enough of a ride to fall asleep in, but it seemed as soon as she began to doze, they'd arrived. She moaned quietly. "Senpai, I'm hungry."

He grimaced. He'd forgotten entirely about breakfast. He leaned forward to instruct his chauffeur. "Go back to the house and get something for Haruhi." He turned back to her. "I'll bring it for you between periods, alright?"

She colored, even as tired as she was. "No, that's alright. You don't have to. Isn't there something I can get here, before class?" No matter how romantic it sounded, having one member of the host club running errands for another just wouldn't do with the busy gossip mill.

He thought about it. They didn't normally open the kitchen before lunch period, however... "I may be able to pull a few strings," he replied.

Senpai could do anything. "Only if it's no trouble," she warned, yawning. She felt as if she could use some of that drink Senpai drank by the pots. "I don't want to-" she yawned again, "-make you late."

"It would certainly cause trouble for you to be falling asleep in class," he replied. He hoped a decent breakfast would wake her up. "I'll see about some coffee, as well."

She nodded, waiting for the door to open so she could shuffle to class.

As usual, the chauffeur opened the door for them. The sun shone just a little too brightly for Kyouya's tastes today. He was more than happy to get inside the school. "Take it easy today. I don't want you exhausting yourself."

She exited the car awkwardly, and straightened hesitantly. Her back was beginning to hurt like it'd been run over. "Alright. Can I come with you to get breakfast?" She didn't want to deal with the twins yet.

"I don't see why not," he replied. They were already a bit late, anyways. He led her to the cafeteria, and still further back to the kitchens, where the chefs were busily prepping for the day's meals.

"Excuse my intrusion." He bowed and smiled politely for the head chef. "But I'm afraid we've missed breakfast-"

"Say no more!" the man replied in a very stiff French accent. "Breakfast is, after all, the most important meal of the day!"

It seemed everyone at Ouran was annoying flamboyant.

Haruhi had instinctively taken a step behind Senpai at the sight of the overpowering man. Although everything smelled delicious. She ventured a sniff, holding his arm tightly.

It only took a few minutes for the chef to whip up something suitable for breakfast with what he had on hand (pretty much everything imaginable.) His sous chef even took the time to arrange everything nicely on a little platter with coffee and little cups of cream and sugar.

"Thank you very much." Kyouya accepted the tray, dipping his head in gratitude once more.

Bobbing herself, Haruhi followed Senpai back into the cafeteria. She held out her hands for the tray. "Thank you," she said, her smile a bit unfocused. "I'll just sit down here and eat it before I go to class." She used to curl up against walls all the time, and it was kind of nostalgic to imitate now. Besides, the tables were all set for lunch, so she didn't want to soil them.

He placed the tray on the table, taking a seat. "You're welcome," he replied, before sliding his own plate off of the tray. These people were paid to keep the place pristine, after all.

She sighed a bit, following his lead despite her apparent hesitation to mess anything up. She found the cup of coffee waiting for her, plucking the mug up by the handle and sniffing cautiously. The first sip was bitter, but the heat enticing, so she began to drink it a little at a time, commenting, "Senpai, you don't have to stay and babysit me. You'll be late for class." She looked over her cup innocently.

He took a long draught of his own coffee. "I'm already late," he replied. "I may as well enjoy my breakfast." He'd been turning up late quite often lately, he was beginning to notice. Just another side effect of his ridiculous emotional attachment.

Looking down, she realized she'd put away over half of the cup already. My, my, sleeping on her own was going to be a much bigger adjustment than she'd thought, wasn't it? She set it aside, thinking back to all the days lately she'd _made_ him late. "Sorry," she apologized softly, tapping her fork on the plate pensively. "I can walk to school from now on, if you like." It would be good exercise, which she needed, right?

The idea of it still set him on edge. Arai was still out there somewhere. "That would be inadvisable," he replied, finishing up the rest of his cup in one quick toss. "I'll just see to it that you wake up earlier next time."

She forked through her food quickly, coming to the conclusion that she was _much_ hungrier than she'd thought she was, eating more quickly than she usually did. "I think my phone is capable of an alarm," she mused between bites. "I'll just have to start waking myself up." Her foggy brain was starting to clear. Was that the coffee?

"As you wish," he replied. That made sense, of course. Why should he still feel he had to be the one to wake her every morning? .What would she ever do when they went their separate ways? He started considering what other things she would need to start learning for herself. "Do you feel up for a swimming lesson after school?"

With this magic liquid in her, yes. "Sure." She frowned, swallowing her bite. "I only have the one swimsuit though, is that okay?" The little bikini that had caused the twins so much agony at the resort.

Ah, Kyouya had heard tales of this swimsuit of hers. The thought made his face a little warm... "If it's what you have on hand, it will have to do."

She stuffed the last mouthful in, nodding to avoid her voice doing funny things. She finished quickly, holding the quickly-cooling cup to warm her hands while she waited for Senpai to finish, too.

He didn't take very long to finish up and return the trays to the kitchen with another saccharine admission of gratitude. "I suppose you can find your way to class, then?"

Eh? No more coffee, huh? She'd silently been hoping he'd just bring back another cup for her on his own. That stuff really worked. She looked up to his face, smiling and nodding. "Thank you for breakfast, Senpai. Have a good day?" It came out as a question, the nightmares last night floating in her head enough to bring her training to mind more than normal. It didn't feel right to tell, so she asked. Her fingers darted up to scratch her temple and tuck her hair behind her ear.

"You're welcome," he replied. "Do take care." He passed her by, hastening on his way to class.

Taking a deep breath, she straightened her shoulders and hurried to class. Even with the coffee, she didn't quite feel the gears of her critical thinking kicking in yet. Ugh, and trying to sneak in the back of class. Wonderful.

Of course, neither of them made it into class without repercussions. Not that Ouran was very strict on punishment beyond mild scolding. Even so, it was somewhat embarrassing.

Class seemed to drag on forever that day.

Despite Hikaru's best attempts to distract her, Haruhi left class with excellent notes that afternoon. While handwriting was still in 'practice mode,' she was beginning to get the hang of it, and got lots of practice with her note-taking in each subject. She hugged her notebooks, heading to club a bit lethargically.

When she arrived in the club room, Kyouya already had a little pot of coffee warming for her. "How are you holding up?"

Glancing at the others, she headed for the drink, pouring herself a cup immediately. "Nothing's conquered me yet, right?" She took a drink, her face heating a bit when she realized what she could have been referring to. "I mean, well, thank you for the coffee."

If he noticed her blunder, he was kind enough to ignore it. "You're welcome," he replied. He was beginning to think that swimming lessons would be better postponed until she could get her sleeping patterns under control.

She downed the coffee in a few good, long, drinks, setting down the cups and smiling tiredly at Senpai. "What are we cosplaying today?"

"I'm told it has something to do with music," Kyouya replied. He was getting a distinct 'boy band' type of feel, but wasn't sure he wanted to admit that he'd allowed such an idea to come to fruition. "Your costume is hanging in your dressing room."

She groaned, having a feeling it was another short skirt day. One look proved her right, sending her to her table in a thigh-length pink leather skirt, a midriff-baring shirt that an emblem from some old 80's group, and a bright blue jacket to top it off. And the wig! She vaguely thought how freaking much her guests loved drag as she put it on, feeling a bit like she was following in her father's footsteps. She finished and set her table up quickly.

Ah, another highly distracting display of skin. How many times did he have to tell them that such things were not conducive to hiding one's feminine traits? He sighed, deciding he would put off scolding him about it for now. He set his table up, as well, just in time for the guests to start arriving.

Club passed quickly, thankfully, and the faster the better because the leather was getting annoyingly uncomfortable. She stood to clean up her table, having to scoot the thing down her legs again. (Why did leather refuse to do anything but ride up?)

Kyouya kept his eyes focused on his own table, very intently. A sharp glance suggested that the rest of the club do the same. He wondered if the twins might have had something to do with the costume choices as of late.

Hikaru walked past Kyouya-Senpai with a smirk. "Senpai," he said, keeping his voice low, "You're a legs man, aren't you? I could guess from a mile away."

He shot Hikaru another stern look. "That's highly unprofessional of you."

He leaned against the back of a chair, flashing that trademark smile. "Senpai, you know the cosplays have been planned out for a while. Nobody can help who's wearing what, you know?" He glanced over his shoulder at Haruhi, almost finished with her table. "But I'm right, aren't I?"

"That's none of your concern," he replied, finally gathering the last of his reports. And that aside, it was a ridiculous excuse. He knew very well that cosplays could change at any moment. However, complaining to Hikaru about it would only stir up more drama.

Hikaru laughed, pushing himself off the chair. "I certainly wouldn't mind helping with _that_ zipper though, eh Senpai?" He turned to saunter off.

Kyouya gritted his teeth. Maybe, one day, he would just give her a big, sloppy kiss, right in front of that brat. That would shut him up, wouldn't it? Show him that Haruhi was not, and never would be his.

Of course, that was just a silly fantasy. Haruhi wasn't his, either, in an emotional sense. For the time being, he simply had to ignore him. He was usually fairly good at ignoring annoyances.

Haruhi leaned down to grab the last bit of trash and yawned. She was happy that club was over, no matter how nice the girls were. And that she got to change. She was mostly happy about that. She turned, noticing Hikaru swaggering off from Senpai's table. Hmm. She hadn't realized they were friends.

Far from it, at this point.

He rose from his table. As much as he wanted to go home, he knew Haruhi wanted it even more. He hurried to the changing rooms, more than eager to get out of this ridiculously flashy outfit.

She smirked, Senpai's purple pants glittering as he strode by. She kind of liked them. She changed into her sweater quickly, turning to that darn skirt. She tugged at it, glad to be getting it off finally, except... She groaned, annoyed to her teeth. Freaking stupid leather and it's stupid crapping zippers. "Senpai?"

He'd only just gotten out of those stupid pants. He began pulling on his far more comfortable uniform. "Yes?" He asked as he buttoned up his undershirt.

"Um, when you're done, could you give me a hand?" Her voice got steadily less annoyed and more embarrassed. After all, anyone could be listening here at school.

Ah, just what they needed with all of the suspicion surrounding them. "Of course," he replied. He slid into his jacket before stepping out of his dressing room. He gave the whole room a cautious once over before proceeding. "What's the problem?"

She gave it one last pull, wishing it could just work with her for once. "My zipper. If you don't mind."

"Of course," he replied. He peeked over his shoulder once more, before stepping forward to take care of the thing. It was, unfortunately, quite stuck.

After several seconds of struggling, he finally managed to get it loose.

"I don't think I like pink leather," she murmured, grateful that she could move her hips normally again.

"It certainly wouldn't be my first choice," he replied as he slid the skirt down her legs. "Although, you do pull it off much better than most."

She shivered at the proximity. "Not as good as your purple pants, Senpai." She tried to think about anything other than where his hands were.

Kyouya let out an ugly chuckle. "I will see to it that both are burnt." He stepped away from her. Why did he do that just now? That was completely unnecessary. He stepped out of her dressing room, taking another self-conscious look around.

She snorted, pulling her pants on quickly. As she scooped up her bag, she realized she was excited about swimming. Just Senpai and her, no drama of the water park or the beach. She found him, sans those glittery pants, and touched his arm to get his attention. "I'm ready whenever you are, Senpai."

"Good," he replied. He was more than ready to get out of here. He stood, collecting the last of his papers and supplies. "How are you feeling?"

She grinned. "Fine! Thank you again for the coffee."

He nodded. "It's quite easy to become addicted to, isn't it?" He considered keeping a thermos of it with him at all times at some, more desperate moments. He walked with her out to the car.

"I certainly hope not," she said, sliding into the seat. She'd hate to get hooked on it, or on anything, really. She waited for him to join her, holding back from taking his hand, though she did stare at for an instant. She knew what holding Senpai's hand felt like now. It was a bit confusing to think of a time when she'd tried to imagine it. "Where are we going to swim, Senpai?"

"We have an indoor pool on the sub-level," he replied. "It's heated, as well."

He only hoped Akito didn't catch wind of what they were doing. He could only imagine how things would go from there.

"At your house?" Wait, this _was_ Kyouya Ootori she was talking to. "Okay." She set her bag at their feet. "Senpai, do you like swimming?"

"It's a pleasant way to pass time," he replied. There was something very relaxing about it, which he very much appreciated.

Folding her fiddling hands in her lap, she relaxed into the seat. Even though she hadn't been nervous, it was nice to hear that it wasn't going to be a chore. "Alright." She fell quiet, the seat quite comfortable.

As always, the car pulled up to the house, and the chauffeur opened the door for them. Kyouya climbed out of the car. It was a nice day for swimming, anyways, even in an indoor pool.

She stifled a yawn, following him in. Dropping her bag off under the couch, she found the suit, marveling that both pieces could fit in one hand. "I'll just... go change, then," she said, motioning at the bathroom.

"Very well," he replied, remaining as straight-faced as he could at the thought of such an article. While she figured that out, he found his own swimsuit to change into.

Leaving her uniform folded on the counter, she looked herself over before going out. Did she look too skinny? Too under-exercised? She prodded her jutting hips. Ah, well. At least she had _something_ to change into. "Do you need to use the restroom, Senpai?" she asked, exiting the bathroom shyly.

He'd gotten changed in his closet while he'd been waiting. "No," he replied, turning to face her. Oh, that was a bad idea. He subtly averted his gaze floor-ward. "I'm quite ready." He turned stiffly to the door.

She ducked her head, assuming she _did_ look too skinny. She stepped over near him. "Lead the way," she said quietly, wishing for a towel or something. If Senpai couldn't even stand looking at her, she couldn't imagine what the rest of the house would think.

He led her down the hall, and down a curved flight of stairs. It was like a whole other house down here. Leading her through another handful of hallways, he eventually found the warm, humid pool room. The sound of water, disturbed by the machinations of the heater, lapping against the walls of the pool was very relaxing.

She breathed in, the room very calming. She stepped carefully up to the pool, peering in. It looked manageable. (Right?) She turned shyly to look to Senpai. "What's first?"

"I suppose we should start by getting you acclimated to the water." He led her to the shallow edge of the pool, a lovely staircase leading into the warmed water. He took a tentative step in, glancing over his shoulder to see how she was doing. And maybe to steal another look at that bikini.

She paused at the edge, dipping her foot tentatively. "It's warm," she said, smiling at him. She stepped in farther, reaching out to steady herself.

He reached out to take her hand. He didn't want a repeat of her last 'swimming' experience. He may have been just a little bit paranoid about the whole issue. "The simplest method is to simply kick your legs," he began, offering a quick demonstration once she'd made it in. "And paddle your arms to stabilize yourself."

She'd been standing on her tippy-toes, trying to stay standing while holding onto Senpai tightly. Slowly, she curled her toes up, kicking instantly to stabilize herself. Letting go of his arm after a moment, she began to become comfortable without it. "Is this right?" she asked quietly, looking for approval.

He nodded. "Very good," he replied. "This method will keep you from drowning, but it's far from the most efficient. Ideally, to swim quickly, you want to be parallel to the bottom of the pool, and reduce your surface area."

Parallel? "Like, floating?" Her pulse quickened. "How... I don't know how to do that."

"Just relax." He took her hand again. "Floating isn't your aim. You'll still need to keep yourself up. Use a stroking motion with your arms."

She held his hand and began to try stroking with the other. "Will you... hold me up while I try this?" She looked at him, not sure she could start all by herself. However degrading a request like that sounded.

"If you'd like." It dawned on him right away that this would mean his hands would be on her exposed flesh. It wasn't just her hand, or a pat on the head. Not that he was going to let it affect him. He slid his hands carefully around her thin waist.

She ignored her racing emotions, trying to get the hang of paddling with her arms and legs at the same time. It felt childish, needing Senpai's help to just propel herself from getting sucked under, but it was working; she was beginning to get the hang of it.

"You're doing very well," he said, though was still somewhat reluctant to let go. "Are you ready to try?"

She nodded, not wanting him to let go, either. He released her, and she successfully swam for a second. Popping her head up, she grinned at him. "Senpai! I did it?"

He offered her a grin. He expected the best from her, but he still felt a sudden flood of relief. "You did. You're swimming, Haruhi."

Holding her breath, she dunked under quickly, wetting her hair completely and came up gasping. "This is fun," she commented breathlessly. She moved closer to him, panting happily.

He never would have thought of the activity as 'fun.' Perhaps 'enjoyable,' 'recreational,' maybe. But never was it 'fun.' Never, that is, until now. Here with Haruhi, this was, actually, kind of fun.

She floated to him, wanting for all the world to tangle up around him, and kiss until their skin turned pruny. But the look on his face was too content to potentially disrupt such a nice moment. "Don't you think?"

He gave her a contented smile. "I do," he replied. He understood that water had something of a romantic element to it. Perhaps cultural perception was effecting him, as right now seemed like a wonderful time for a kiss... But he ignored that impulse.

"Senpai," she asked softly, her voice edging into a bit of huskiness, "How do you float? Arai-San-I mean, I've heard you can float on your back, and it feels like you're weightless." She glanced at his lips for just an instant.

He thought he had an idea of what she was talking about. "You do float, somewhat, when your lungs are full." He took a deep breath, kicking back.

She watched, transfixed. It looked incredible, freeing. "Is that hard?"

"Not with practice," he replied. "Once you get the hang of swimming." He held out a hand for her. "Give it a try."

Holding his hand, she kicked back, trying to imitate him. Her legs wouldn't cooperate though, and she didn't stay up for long. "I don't think I can do that yet." She sighed.

"You'll get there," he replied. He righted himself again. "You'll just have to keep practicing. You're free to use the pool whenever you wish, now that you know where it is."

Her hand was still in his. "Thank you." Reclining a bit on the water, she let her body float at it's will, not quite how she wanted, but better than her first try. Her stomach surfaced, this time. "Do I owe you anything?" she asked, anticipating his answer.

"Consider this a free lesson," he replied. 'Free' wasn't a word he used often. But, at this point, her debt was never going to get paid off.

She tugged at his hand, pulling them closer to each other simultaneously. Taking his other hand, she whispered, "Then consider this a tip," Haruhi brushed her mouth over his, the instant her lips met his as brief as she could make it.

He hoped his face wasn't flushing like he felt it was. She'd kissed him again. Just as he was just thinking about it... Why did she have to make things so hard? He cleared his throat and reached up to adjust his glasses, but found they weren't there.

She laughed softly, the small habits he'd formed over the years as natural for her to anticipate as for him to do. She kicked her feet up, wrapping her legs around his waist. She'd gone this far, she might as well just go all out, huh? Now attached to him like a koala, she let go of one of his hands, reaching up to run it down the length of his taut, commanding jaw. "I'm sorry, did I startle you?" She half wanted to take those soft lips again.

He was shuddering under her touch. "A bit, yes." He averted his eyes again, her body just making itself so easy to see. "I suppose you've had enough swimming, then?"

Pulling her legs tighter around him, solely for support's sake, she let go of his other hand and reached up to cup his face. "Swimming...?" Oh right, the world wasn't revolving around this one moment, was it? "Senpai, I know that my body is still repulsive but," She couldn't change her body now, "I wanted to say thank you." She kissed his cheek, lingering for a second. "So thank you."

"Haruhi." He sounded firm, but immediately decided to change his tone. He wrapped an arm around her, letting his fingertips brush against her ribs under the water. "Don't ever say that," he said, softer this time. "You're beautiful."

She balanced herself, hands on his strong shoulders. She knew he had to lying, a painful, beautiful, lie, but the words were delicious. "It's okay, Senpai," she whispered against his warm, wet, skin. "If I can still make you happy with the little I have..." She kissed his cheek again, quickly, "...then it's okay."

"You have more than just this." He ran his fingers back up her ribs. "You're wonderful."

She shivered at his words. She touched his hair, running her fingers along it. Looking into his eyes, she murmured, "Well, anything I have, I learned from you." He really did have gorgeous eyes. They shone, especially without the glasses hiding the pretty details.

"I don't think that's true," he replied, staring straight up into her eyes. True, he couldn't see them very well right now. But he could picture them. So full of strength and intelligence. She'd done so much, all on her own. Incredible. "No. I think it's just who you are."

She opened her mouth in a smile, his words warming her, no matter if she believed them completely or not. Her legs flexed against his back. "Senpai," she laughed quietly, her face inches from his, "You overestimate me," Her heart began racing, her mouth skipping ahead of her brain.

"I love you." Immediately she tensed, her weighty words slipping out before she could rethink them. "I-I'm so sorry," she added, anticipating the worst reaction.

He grip around her grew tight, tense. _No, no, Haruhi, please._ He couldn't. He couldn't love her. He shouldn't. He hated when he didn't have the right words. He couldn't just say he didn't feel the same... he did. But she was off limits. She didn't love him, she just thought every other man out there was horrible. Worse than him.

"I think that's enough for today," he said, with effort.

Her hands slipped down to twine around his neck. She laid her head on his shoulder, shaking slightly. "I didn't mean to-"

She stopped. Had she really said something she hadn't meant?

"I'm sorry," she said instead, her body tightening around his. This would be the perfect moment for his betrayal, if that was still to come. "Please don't-" She shook lightly, "Don't send me away." She would never forgive herself if she'd ruined everything with her stupid, overly sensitive emotions.

His shoulders sagged with exhaustion. How could he keep turning her away? Did he really love her if he could continue to break her heart like this? Obviously, they weren't meant to be. He only wished he could make her understand.

"You're young, Haruhi. We both are," he told her, letting his hands slide off of her. "One day, you'll see it. You'll fall in real love with someone. Someone good for you."

He'd let go, physically, and she felt as if he'd sent her adrift emotionally as well. She knew she should let go, and did so, untangling her legs slowly. She floated down to stand, hands on his shoulders for balance. Eyes down, she felt as if she'd completely ruined the whole moment. "Yes, Senpai," she agreed woodenly, wondering why he wouldn't believe her now, but would in the future? "Even if you're the best one for me," she added quietly, removing her hands.

He stared blankly at the ceiling, at the frantically dancing reflections of the the water. "I'm really not." He lifted himself out of the pool, letting his legs dangle in the water as he waited for her. Maybe this private lesson thing was a bad idea.

In her past, she would have assumed his position was an indication of a needed service. It would have been easy, just to swim over and pleasure him right there. But he didn't want her; worse, she _loved_ him, and he didn't love her back. Plus, she actually didn't think he was asking. She waded out slowly, realizing all at once what she'd done. No matter what she'd said, she'd basically thrown herself at him and he'd rejected her. "If you need to punish me, will you do it yourself?" She bowed her head, respectfully, fearfully. "I-I-I can't take any more of Akito-Senpai."

"I'm not going to punish you, Haruhi," he replied. "You've done nothing wrong." He couldn't say any more than that. His stomach twisted. He was doing this for her, he reminded himself. It'll be so much better for her in the long run.

She'd spotted a towel waiting on the nearby chair, and she wrapped herself in it tightly. She _felt _as if she needed to be punished. She kept her head down, her brain spinning with how she'd just exposed Senpai to her disgusting body, how stupid she was, how she didn't deserve any of this. It was all she could do to just stay where she was, quiet.

He took a towel for himself, feeling an awful feeling that he couldn't exactly name.

He felt like a creep. Like he'd been playing her emotions and leading her on, simply because he lacked the self control to make her stop sooner. Maybe he should just tell her... Maybe he should just get his feelings out there. Maybe he should just let her have this...

At the party. He would tell her at the ball and that would be that.

She waited for him, determined not to do anything else wrong tonight. She was going to wait for him to give her specific instructions before she did _anything_. Her feet had gone pigeon toe'd, indicating her extreme nervousness, though she had trouble imagining Senpai doing anything _too_ horrible to her. (Anyway, he didn't want her like that.)

He toweled off his hair, doing his best not to look at her. He was sure he couldn't handle it right now. "It's late," he said. "We've still got homework." He began making his way out of the pool room.

She followed him, gripping her towel desperately hard. When they'd gotten back to his room, she stopped near the couch, practically hugging herself. "T-thank you, Senpai. For, um, the swimming."

"You're welcome, Haruhi," he replied. He moved quickly through the room, gathering up his clothes to change into. He just didn't know what to do with himself anymore.

Once he was locked in the bathroom, she began to towel herself off. Her pajamas sounded heavenly right now. She slipped into her pajama shirt quickly, then began drying her hair. This damn bikini. Wait, no. It wasn't the bikini's fault for showing her off. It was her fault for not being good enough. She rubbed a piece of hair between her fingers in the towel, kind of wishing she still had her long hair. She missed it. As she went to remove the bikini bottom, her fingers brushed her old brand. She shivered, determined not to think about _that_ day.

Kyouya's head felt fuzzy as he changed into some more casual clothes. All of these emotions... Really not his strong suit. If only she'd gone to some sensitive, loving millionaire instead of him. But, no, she was stuck with this cold, calculating, love-dumb Kyouya.

She'd just pulled on underwear when he reemerged, and she wondered if she should bring it up. After all, he was entitled to know about someone else's mark on her, right? Though, he had seen her naked before. She shivered. "...Senpai? Do you intend do anything about my brand?" she asked, her voice completely devoid of emotion.

He hadn't thought much of it, to be honest. But now that she brought it up, he realized she probably thought about it quite often. Just another stupid mistake on his part. "There are ways to have scars removed, if you'd like," he replied.

"I just-" Technically, he should replace it with a new one. But Senpai wasn't like that? Senpai wasn't like that. It should have been obvious by now, but his expectations versus hers were generally opposite of each other. "I was just saying... I mean, if you need to put the new one on, it's okay." She twisted at her fingers.

He sighed. He would explain as many times as needed. "Doing so would imply that you are my slave. As it is, you are simply an employee, working to pay off a debt."

On its own accord, her hand raced back to run fingertips over the slight bump, positioned right under the small of her back. It had been there for a long time; it was hard to imagine it _not_ being there, really. "But..." You bought me; I haven't paid it back yet; You're my better.

"Yes, Senpai," she agreed instead, not sure how to make him understand that she wouldn't hate him for doing something so expected. She tugged on her pajama pants.

He hoped she was capable of understanding one day. A whole lifetime of learned behaviors was hard to undo. But then, she was strong. Surely adapting to a softer lifestyle couldn't be so bad. If only he could drill into her head just how much she could be...

She sat down on the couch, curling in on herself protectively. She had anticipated more sleep tonight, as she'd gotten almost none the night before, but now her heart was racing so quickly, she wasn't sure. Anyway, she had homework to do. Eyes averted from Senpai's busy form, she pulled her book bag close and buried her legs under the covers. At least her grades could be good. That was something he could be proud of, right? She found a paper returned today and brightened. "Senpai!" She said, looking up happily and half-forgetting she was still embarrassed, "Look at the grade I got!"

He turned from his homework, moving to accept the paper. She was doing far better than he would have expected, for someone who had been out of school as long as she had. He found it in him to work up a smile for her. "You seem to be doing very well."

'Very well' was a high compliment to be coming from Senpai's mouth, and Haruhi ducked her head a bit in happy-embarrassment. "Thank you. I had to write a paper about my childhood."

He could only imagine how hard that must have been for her. If he had known... "You're very bright, Haruhi," he said. "You'll get on very well, when you have a life of your own."

She smirked a bit. "Thanks. The life I described in that paper isn't _exactly_ what my childhood was like, though. Though many people don't get to ride elephants in India for their seventh birthday."

"That would come off as rather fantastic, wouldn't it?"

He thought it interesting that she took that sort of initiative. He'd been beginning to think that she came to him for everything, but she'd gone and falsified information all by herself. What a stunning businesswoman she was growing up to be.

She snorted, knowing that in _Ouran_, nothing was very fantastic. She was quite proud of the paper though, and was glad Senpai approved. "Thanks," she said again, unsure of what or how to say anything else.

He handed the paper back to her. "You should hold on to that," he replied. It might be good for her self-confidence to remind herself of her accomplishments every now and then. Even the little ones.

She tucked it away in her folder, nodding and turning back to her work. Thankfully, there wasn't much of it and she finished in record time, stowing everything back under the couch. Wiggling down to cuddle up under the stack of blankets, she yawned, watching Senpai's hands moving as he worked on his paperwork.

He finished up shortly after she did. He wondered if she was asleep by now. Swimming could be rather exhausting, especially for a beginner. He let out a quite yawn as well. But it as far too early for sleep. Still, he couldn't resist laying his head down for a moment to think.

The party was tomorrow. He still didn't exactly know how to approach the situation. He hadn't even explained his situation to Tamaki yet. Of course, the man believed pretty much anything he said, even when he made it up on the spot. No real worry there.

It was Akito he was worried about. Sure, he couldn't do anything gauche to her at the party, but... Ootoris had a tendency to get inside your head. They knew how to break you with words before actions.

She was actually kind of tired now. She noticed Senpai's hands stop before the rest of him and yawned. "Are you going to bed now?"

Ah, so she was awake. "No, not yet," he replied, though he made no move to lift his head. "I've still got business to attend to." Like always.

She scoffed. Propping her head up, she mused, "Uh-huh. It looks pressing."

He let out a quiet snort. "This is much harder than it seems," he responded, his voice doing a very good job of conveying his uncharacteristic laziness.

Her eyes skimmed over his tired form quickly. "Can't it wait until morning?" They did have a big day coming up tomorrow; it wouldn't do for him to be dead on his feet.

"Maybe." Oh, did she bring out the worst in him. "How are you doing? Still tired?"

She shrugged a little, then realized he wasn't looking her way. "I'm fine. No big problem, really." She sat up, holding the blankets lightly in her hand. Strange night to ask her that. "I could massage your shoulders a bit, if that would help." Platonically.

"No, that's fine," he replied. He had to learn to say 'no' to her sometimes. No matter how wonderful one of her massages sounded right now. After all, that would only manage to put him to sleep faster. He sat up, mentally preparing himself to get back to work.

Still, she stood and crossed the room quietly, wrapping her arms around his neck softly. "Alright. Don't stay up too late?" she said against his ear, his soft hair tickling her face a bit.

"Of course not," he replied. Though, his definition of 'too late' might not exactly match up with hers. "Will I keep you up if-" Oh, wait, she wasn't sleeping with him anymore. "Ah, never mind."

She nuzzled him faintly, holding back the kiss she'd been wanting to give his cheek, and laughed a little. "Good night. Sleep well, Senpai."

He offered her a tired smile. She seemed to be feeling much better. That, in turn, made him feel less like a horrible person. "Good night. Haruhi."

Thankfully, her night was much more peaceful than the previous one, probably due to that lack of sleep. She woke to her newly-set alarm and blearily wondered why Senpai wasn't in bed still-

Oh, yeah. She wasn't in his bed.

But at the very least, he should have slept for a few hours on his own. She sat up tiredly, blinking and trying to make him out.

Kyouya rose to his alarm clock. Well, less 'rose' and more rolled over lazily to shut it off. He paused a moment to collect himself, before somehow struggling out of bed. He made his way across the room, ready to change his clothes.

She tried to make her mouth move, but the feeling of night gunk over-took her, eliciting a groan instead. She turned off the alarm, sitting up groggily.

"Good morning," he greeted automatically as he gathered his uniform.

She shrugged, not completely agreeing that it was good yet. "Sleep well?" she asked, voice heavy with morning mouth.

"Well enough," he mumbled. He would feel much better after some coffee. "And yourself?" He couldn't imagine she hadn't sleep, with all of that exercise yesterday.

She nodded. Actually, yeah. She hadn't even dreamed. Or if she had, they were unimportant enough that she didn't remember any of them. "I'll call for breakfast," she mumbled, standing and stretching over her head.

Ah, she was getting comfortable, wasn't she? That was good. Feeling less like a slave, with any luck. He left her to do that while he changed.

The food on its way, she went to dig out her uniform. She'd called for coffee for both of them, and she was beginning to get the lingering suspicion that she might be on the verge of becoming addicted. Half a cup. That's it. Half a cup, _tops. _

She unbuttoned her shirt, drowsily remembering they were going to a party tonight. Oh jeez.

Kyouya's thoughts wandered to the party as well, as he ran a comb through his hair. He was never a big fan of the things, but he was never exactly nervous about them. This one was different. He had a date. With Haruhi.

It was going to be an interesting night

Senpai's phone began ringing. She finished her last button, jogging over to grab it. "Senpai!" she called, bringing it to the door of the bathroom.

He set down his comb, pushing his anxious thoughts aside and opening the door. "Thank you." He accepted the phone, glancing at the caller ID before picking up.

"Kyouya! You didn't tell me you were going to the party tonight, too!"

Ah, he should have expected this. "It was relatively short notice," he replied. Which it was. He'd only heard about it two days ago, after all. "I had intended to tell you at some point today." He also had a few other things to tell him...

"Well, what are you wearing? I don't want to come dressed the same."

"Our differing taste in fashion ensures that there is no chance of that happening," Kyouya replied. Of course _that_ was the first thing on his mind.

"Ah, well, if you say so. I'll be in my new red Gucci blazer. So don't wear anything red and Gucci, okay?"

"You won't have to worry about that," he replied. "Though there is something else important I have to discuss with you." He eyed Haruhi, motioning for her to take her turn in the bathroom.

"Oh? Is it about the cosplay list? I can put the pirate one sooner, if you want."

Haruhi stepped into the bathroom, slipping into her uniform quickly.

"No, it's about the party tonight," he replied. Why would he want that in the first place? "I thought you should know-" he paused. How to best go about this... "I'm taking Haruhi." Ah, the best approach.

"Taking Haruhi where? By the way, did you know tonight was a date party? I hate those ones."

Ah, early morning headache. He pressed his fingers against his forehead, praying that his coffee would arrive soon. "To the ball," he grunted.

The voice paused. "You're _taking_ her? Like, as your date?"

A knock sounded on the door. Haruhi emerged, shirt undone, and went to get it.

He glanced over his shoulder. He wasn't sure why, but he didn't want her to hear them discussing her like this. "Yes. It is a requirement, after all," he said vaguely, keeping an eye on her through the corner of his eye.

"So does that mean... she's your girlfriend?"

Haruhi took the tray, going to set it on a table by the couch. She busied her hands with pouring coffee and her mouth with drinking all of it immediately. (So much for the half a cup)

"No," he replied. "This is simply a manner of convenience."

He wandered over for his own cup of coffee. He could tell he would need several.

"Ah. Is she excited?"

He looked to her once more. "I don't think so."

"Kyouya, you _asked_ her to go, right? She agreed."

"Of course I did." He sounded just a touch more offended than he should have been.

He sighed loudly into the receiver. "Well, I'm sure she'll have fun, then. She wouldn't agree if she didn't want to go." His voice was a bit...disappointed. "Did you need me to do something?"

"No. I simply wanted to explain things ahead of time." He finished off his first cup, holding the phone between his ear and shoulder to pour another one. "I didn't want you to overreact."

He laughed, probably posing himself. "Overreact? And _why _would I do something like that?"

A number of reasons, none of which Kyouya wanted to admit to. "Well, so long as you understand the situation. Was there anything else?"

Tamaki laughed a little, sipping his tea on the other end. "Only if that's it on your end. I just called to see..." He paused, realizing his naive little invitation would just sound stupid now that Kyouya had a date. And that Haruhi would be there. "Never mind. I'll see you at school soon."

Odd. It was rare that he should second guess himself like that. Sigh, he supposed he'd upset him. He would get over it, he was sure. He hung up his phone, and finished his coffee. "Are you ready?"

Haruhi looked up from a guilty mug of joe. "If you are. I haven't eaten anything yet, though." She wouldn't mention it, but he made such a fuss.

"Ah. No, that's fine," he replied. He picked idly at his toast. "We don't have to leave right away." He was just feeling antsy all the sudden.

She took another sip, looking up at him. "Senpai, you look anxious." She was waking up, true, but the coffee had yet to inject itself in her bloodstream.

"It's nothing," he replied. No need to set her on edge, as well. "I suppose I'm just waking up, is all."

She set down her coffee, getting up to circle around him. "Alright. Well, if this starts to hurt, let me know." She rubbed sleep out of her eyes, pressing her hands into his shoulders and beginning to flex into them.

He tensed, his immediate reaction to pull away. He restrained himself. "Haruhi... You really should finish your breakfast." Ah, those hands of hers again...

She hiccuped, pressing her whole forearm into his right side. "Well, you have more responsibilities then I do, right? _And_ you were up later than me, I know. Just relax." Her hands gripped and tugged at his skin through the jacket, feeling the tight knots just underneath clearly.

He opened his mouth to protest, but all that came out was a slow, soft sigh. Alright, he told himself, two minutes. Then she needed to eat, and they needed to go. "Just for a few minutes..."

She grinned, working down him slowly. The sigh had made it worth it already. "Relax, Senpai," she murmured, almost to the base of his back. She stayed at an appropriate level, but dug in there, letting her thumbs tense and tease the knots out of him. She worked at it for a moment, wishing, again, that she could lay him down for a proper massage, like he'd given her. When she finished there, she moved back up, fingertips dancing up and down the length of him before going to rest at his neck. "How does this feel, Senpai?" she asked, letting her hands work his neck slowly, deliberately.

He let out a gentle hum of approval. "Good." Too good. He shook his head, coming back to reality. "Thank you." He reached for another cup of coffee

His form left her before she could move her hands. "Uh huh," she said, not quite feeling satisfied. Well, nothing she could do about it now, right? She went to grab some toast. "I guess we're ready, then."

"It would seem so," he replied. Now that he'd had time to calm down, he almost didn't want to go to school. As soon as school was over, there was the party... He still wasn't sure how to feel, or how this would turn out.

No use trying to delay it, though. He was out the door.

She followed him, greeting Chaffing-San cheerfully at the car door. As she sat down, it hit her how_ tonight _was the night. She had to be a proper lady tonight. Oh jeez. She'd barely made it through talking to Senpai's father. "Are you excited for the party, Senpai?"

"That's one way of looking at it," he replied. Nervously excited, perhaps. "What about you?"

Her heart rate had gone up, at least. "I think so. You think my manners will be up to par?" She wasn't so sure.

"I think you'll be the most impressive lady in the room," he replied. And he meant it.

Her heart skipped a beat. He was entirely too nice. Coloring, she shyly smiled. "Thank you. If that's true, we'll make the most striking coup- I mean, the most striking pair ever to attend."

He smiled. "I should think so."

He only hoped things went well.

When you're nervous about something, the general response is to draw back and hope your day drags by, making the time between you and the thing you don't want to do seem longer.

For Haruhi, who was getting quite nervous about the ball, the day seemed to FLY by, absolutely zipping past her with careless abandon. She blinked, watching her guests leave and wondered where her day had gone.

Kyouya had much the opposite experience. The day dragged on, giving him plenty of time to think over how the party could go wrong. Normally, when he was nervous over something like that, he tried to focus his energies toward thinking up counter-actions for each horrible scenario his brain threw at him. This worked well enough when he didn't have other things to focus on. When he tried to focus, it thoughts began to pile up and fester within his conscious.

Still, the day did eventually draw to a close.

Tamaki stared at her over the chair, his face unknowingly flushed. She was so pretty. He'd raised her well, hadn't he? The corner of his eye caught Kyouya, and he sighed, not sure why he felt such resentment over a nice boy like Kyouya taking his daughter on a date. Maybe it was just fatherly overprotection.

Haruhi hated her boots. They'd done pirates today, and her boots were the stupidest things she'd ever seen. And she was _positive_ that the boob-squishing, cleavage-baring corset wasn't necessary in the least. She rolled her eyes, glad she could change in a minute.

Kyouya quietly cleaned up his table, with a sort of rushed, impatience to him. He wasn't particularly eager to get home, but he felt the need to keep pushing forward until this was all done with. It helped that he really wanted to change, as well. Eyepatches looked stupid with glasses.

Hikaru bounced over to Haruhi's table, only partially because she looked so freaking hot in that outfit. "Haruhi!" he sang. "You're coming to our house tonight, right? We need to do your hair and makeup!"

Well, they did know what they were doing, he had to admit. They'd done a fine job helping her pick a dress. And seeing Haruhi all done up, with makeup and all... It was a somewhat intriguing notion. Not that he would admit that particularly shallow thought.

Haruhi sighed, crossing her arms. She wanted to say no, but she had no idea how to use makeup, and she doubted Senpai did, either. (Unless there was something he wasn't telling her?) And this kind of party demanded it, as far as she could tell. "Alright," she said, giving in. "What time should I come over?"

Hikaru cheered. "How about now? We could take you home with us and have the dress and stuff delivered, and Kyouya-Senpai could pick you up on his way. Right, Senpai?" he called over his shoulder, smirking.

Ah, so they knew about the two of them. He felt a small pang of guilt for letting them find out before his friend. But, regretting things now wouldn't help anything. "Just how long do you expect this process to take?" he asked.

Hikaru shrugged dramatically. "Proper party face takes a while, Senpai. Don't you want her to look as good as she can?"

Of course he did, but... Well, the two hours they had before the party seemed an excessive amount of time. "I suppose I haven't much of a choice."

Hikaru cheered, taking Haruhi's arm suddenly. "Don't worry," he said to both her and Senpai, "It'll be the best transformation!" he smirked. "Yaknow, you don't have to change before we leave if you don't want to..."

Haruhi sighed, untangling her arm. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

Their overzealousness could be just a bit cloying sometimes. "I do hope that the two of you will be on your best behavior."

Kaoru chuckled. "We always are, Senpai."

"How disconcerting."

If it weren't for the promise of a whole party at his side, Haruhi would have wanted a better goodbye in the Music Room. As it was, she just went to change, struggling out of the tightly-fitted outfit as best as she could.

Tamaki ran to catch up with his friend. "Kyouya! While they're doing that, you and I could get ready together." He was unsure of himself all of a sudden, "You know, if you want to."

He supposed he owed him that much. He only hoped this wasn't a clever way of getting him alone to 'talk about things.' He wasn't sure he could handle that right now. "Why not."

Tamaki brightened. "Wonderful! And we can get ice cream!"

Ice cream seemed to be the thing as of late, didn't it? "As you wish," he replied. "I do hope you don't expect me to go out dressed like this, however."

Tamaki laughed. It had been too long since they'd just hung out, nothing else to distract them. "Of course not~ Although we could just get some from a drive-through!" He lit up. "Kyouya, have you ever been through one? They're fantastic!"

"I have heard that, yes." Sometimes, he worried his friend was on the verge of losing all manner of respectable taste entirely. He moved the conversation to the changing rooms. "I'm sure, if nothing else, it will expedite the process."

Tamaki laughed, already in his own uniform and leaning against the wall. "We can eat in the car! It'll be a like a picnic, don't you think?"

He slipped out of his heavy coat and loose boots. "I couldn't think of a better way to spend the day," he said without inflection. It didn't take him very long to change.

Tamaki had wilted a bit at his tone, the time away from his friend all but making him easier to understand. Why wasn't Kyouya excited to be with him? He shook it off, setting his face determinedly, and resolved to make Kyouya laugh today, at least once.

Kyouya left the dressing room, taking care to straighten his tie. "Alright. I suppose you've got everything together, then?" It had been some time since just the two of them had done anything. Maybe this would be nice.

Haruhi emerged after a few minutes. "Guys, I'm ready."

"Great!" Kaoru came to take her hands. "No time to lose, Haruhi! We gotta make a princess out of you in two hours!"

Haruhi felt like the filling of a sandwich the way they book ended her. She'd already called the house to ask for someone to deliver her party things, and didn't like riding in the Hitachiin's car. It was weird. She was used to Senpai's chic black leather. This car had brown suede. "Soo... do you really think it'll take that long just to put some mascara on?"

"'Just to put mascara on?'" Kaoru laughed. "Oh, Haruhi, there's a lot more to it than _that!_"

Haruhi sighed. Of course there was. It could never just be easy with them, could it?

Hikaru snaked his arm through hers. "Besides, you wanna look _good_ tonight, don't you? 'Cause Senpai sees you everyday; you've gotta stand OUT tonight for him to notice you."

Tamaki led them to his car cheerfully, chattering happily about nothing. He let Kyouya get in first. "To the ice cream!" he declared, pointing grandly. "You'll love this," he assured his friend, giving him a confident look.

"I trust no one's judgment more than your own," he replied. He really did like this guy sometimes.

"Yeah, come on, Haruhi," Kaoru continued. "You don't get a lot of opportunities to be _really_ girly, do ya?"

She'd never considered that. _Did_ Senpai get bored of how she looked, day in and day out? Maybe it was a good thing they wanted to go all out, then. "Fine. I'll sit through anything you guys think works."

Hikaru grinned. "Leave it up to us!"

Kaoru echoed his twin. "Let's get started!" He whisked her out of the car, off to the powder room.

Haruhi barely opened her eyes for the better part of an hour. Every time she tried, Hikaru barked that something wasn't dry yet, or he was still working on that, or 'Stay STILL!' Because of that, she didn't see herself in the mirror the whole time.

The dress and shoes were delivered soon after they arrived, so she was led over to change while they waited for the eyelashes to dry. "Look up, Haruhi," Hikaru instructed for the hundredth time, unzipping the dress and holding it for her to step into.

Kaoru took a step back to look at the finished product, a little grin on his face. "You're lookin' good, Haruhi," he commented.

Hikaru twisted a few of the short curls to frame her face more thoroughly. He stepped back, whistling low. "No guy is safe tonight."

Haruhi frowned, heating the tiniest bit, and turned slowly to the mirror. She caught her reflection, and gasped softly. She didn't even look like herself anymore. The shoes were just peeking out from the long dress, but she liked it. The whole outfit. She turned to the twins, bowing slightly. "Thank you. I wouldn't have believed that was me." (At least not a few months ago...)

Kaoru chuckled. "Nah, we didn't make you look different. We just highlighted the best parts!"

Haruhi blushed harder, scowling just as hard and shrugged. "Well, thanks guys. I guess I just don't mess it up now, huh?"

"It should be pretty idiot-proof now that it's all dry," Kaoru replied. "But don't go rubbing at your face too much~"

Taking the cups back from his driver, Tamaki handed one ice cream to his friend and began scooping up his own. "I bet you're really excited for tonight, huh?"

That seemed to be the question of the day. "It's only a charity function," he replied. "We go to them every year."

Haruhi jerked her hand back from itching her eye. "Thanks guys," she said, looking at the clock. "And time to spare, too."

"Well, don't move around to much." Kaoru instructed. "You don't wanna wrinkle your dress before you even get on the dance floor."

Tamaki took a big bite of the chocolate. "Well, you've never taken a proper date before, have you?" He licked his lips of the stuff. "I don't even think I've ever taken a real date before." (At least not that hadn't been set up for him.)

"I don't see why that should make such a difference," he replied coolly. Of course, it made a huge difference, being that it was Haruhi. A thought struck him. "Who are you taking?"

The car pulled up to the Suoh's second mansion, and Tamaki stepped out, taking a big bite of his ice cream. "Oh," he replied, his voice flippant, "I don't know. Father said Grandmother had someone I'm to meet there." He waited for Kyouya to join him outside the car.

"I see," he replied. He knew it was only a matter of time before that madwoman tried to fix him up with someone. Make the family look a bit more 'respectable.'

Haruhi sat down carefully. "So, why don't you guys have to go to this party, too?"

"Meh, not really Mom's thing," Kaoru said, still fiddling a bit with her hair.

Hikaru fastened the necklace around her neck. "Besides, it's not really the kind of thing designers go to." Wow. She'd been right about that necklace.

Tamaki led him into the house, Kyouya's new outfit already delivered. "How's the ice cream?" he asked, not wanting to pursue the last subject any more. "I hope it's not _too_ good, you don't want to get tummy bloat!"

"It's not bad," he replied. Not the best in the world, but he wasn't exactly a connoisseur. "How long do you think you'll take?"

Tamaki laughed, posing. "I won't be but a minute. I always look dashing, after all. You can change in the guest room, if you like."

"Thank you," he replied, draping his suit over his arm to take it with him. "Try not to dally."

Tamaki saluted. "We'll meet back here in oh-ten minutes, then."

"Agreed," he replied, making his way to the guest room.

"But hey!" Kaoru thought. "Maybe at the next event we're invited to, we could take you! You know, since you and Kyouya aren't _involved._"

Haruhi fiddled with her hands. "Eh, maybe." She ignored the 'involved' jab.

Hikaru slumped onto a chair. "Aw, come on, Kaoru. You know she'd _never _let her precious 'Senpai' go lonely."

"Pft. Who says we have to tell him?" Kaoru asked. They weren't really in the same social circles for stuff like this, after all.

She bristled at Hikaru's tone, but just rolled her eyes. "We'll see. Thanks for helping me with this, though. I really appreciate it."

Hikaru melted a bit.

"Aw, it's no trouble." Kaoru resisted the urge to ruffle her perfectly styled hair. "Guess we'd better call your car huh? You wanna make a dramatic entrance!"

She played with her cell phone. "Yeah, I guess so." Senpai was with Tamaki, anyway. She didn't want to make him come all the way here for her. She dialed Chaffing-San.

Gucci-clad and hair slicked back, Tamaki waited in the foyer for his friend. He straightened the red shirt absently, wondering again why he felt the twinges of jealousy. Ah, well.

Chaffing-San was more than happy to come pick her up. It was his job, after all. Ah, he wished he could be there to watch them dance. But, of course, the chauffeur is to wait in the car. He told her he would be around in a few minutes.

Kyouya soon returned, his back straight and his buttons perfectly aligned. "I suppose it's about time."

Tamaki grinned. Haruhi would melt at the sight of him. "No one will be able to look away from you and I," he said, flipping his head sassily. "Come on,"

Haruhi waved goodbye to the twins, her heart rate almost unbearably high. She knew she looked pretty good, but Hikaru had a point about Senpai seeing her every day. He'd probably not even notice, right? She twisted her fingers quickly, wishing they were there already. At least the awkward greeting would be over, then.

He followed Tamaki to his car, the nervousness crashing down on him anew. It was very uncommon for him, and all the more off-putting. But he could handle it.

Chaffing drove up to the entrance to the grand hotel building inside which the ball was being held. He opened the door for her and gave her a reassuring smile. He knew she would do well tonight.

She smiled faintly at him, wondering if Senpai was here yet. She looked around, unsure of where to go from here, especially if he wasn't. There were people coming from all sides, laughing and sparkling and entering the hotel confidently. She noticed a dark-haired man across the way, wondering if that might be Senpai's oldest brother. She tried not to duck her head, the volume of people overwhelming.

The ride there was filled with idle chatter, Tamaki trying to put his friend at ease. The hotel was close by, though, and they got there within a few minutes.

Tamaki patted him on the back. "You'll do fine, okay? I'll see you in a while."

He took a deep, quiet breath, and finally smiled at his friend. "I do hope you'll enjoy yourself, too," he said. Now that he was finally here, he felt a sense of hopeless calm come over him. Whatever happened, it started now. He entered the ballroom, eyes scanning intently, wondering if Haruhi had arrived yet.

Haruhi saw the bright blonde hair first, Senpai's dark locks nearby. Tamaki-Senpai slipped away, leaving Senpai with his back to her. She quietly made her way up to him, tapping him lightly on the shoulder. "Sen-" Wait, no. She was his date tonight; tonight was the exception. "Kyouya?" Her face heated madly.

He recognized her voice, though his name sounded foreign on her tongue. He turned to greet his date, and was left speechless.

Those twins really did know what they were doing.

"Haruhi... It's a pleasure."

**A/N: Next chapter: all your wildest dreams come true. (Considering you've been dreaming about KyouHaru going to a fancy party, or meeting Kyouya's Mom, or gettingitoncoughcough)**

**Happy reviewing!**


	27. Glittering

He recognized her voice, though his name sounded foreign on her tongue. He turned to greet his date, and was left speechless.

Those twins really did know what they were doing.

"Haruhi... It's a pleasure." He offered a bow, as well as a formal kiss on the hand.

Her cheeks were _burning_ as his lips brushed her skin. He looked... incredible. Even his hair looked different somehow. "Indeed," she said, a bit breathless. "Thank you for inviting me." She _felt_ different; the dress, maybe, or the tiny curls framing her face. Either way, she didn't quite feel like the mousy little slave girl he'd found. Her shoulders were straight, her posture confident.

She was so very different, her manner, her bearing. She was confident. And she wore it extremely well. "You look- fantastic tonight."

She smiled shyly. He'd noticed? She smoothed her skirt happily. "Thank you. You look quite dashing yourself." She looked up for his eyes, hoping to catch those happy crinkles that appeared only when he was relaxed, and genuinely happy. She wanted him to just be happy tonight.

Suddenly, he wasn't worried anymore. No, Akito, Tamaki, and his father weren't going to take this wonderful moment from them. He was going to enjoy her presence tonight, he was going to confess his- _feelings_- And no one was going to ruin it for them.

There they were. She relaxed, folding her hands politely in front of her. "It's beautiful here," she said, taking in the intricate architecture.

"It is," he replied. Though, his attention was not on the architecture. "I hope the twins weren't too violent with you," he said, trying to make polite conversation as the band waited for the rest of the guests to arrive. It was the gentlemanly thing to do.

She colored softly. "No, they were very gentle," she chuckled, batting her eyelashes. "And it came out well enough, I guess." She tried to ignore the colorful swarms of pretty people that were swirling around her. Senpai was here. No, she was on a date with _Kyouya_, and he was here to protect her.

"It did," he replied, his voice hinting at something just a little more enthusiastic. Of course, he was tastefully restrained, as all aristocrats ought to be. "I told you you would be the envy of the ballroom."

She laughed, looking around. She wasn't used to blending in so well with a crowd like this. "Well, maybe the two of us together at least." She smiled up at him again, reaching for his hand demurely.

He accepted her hand, looking out over the crowd. There were glances from all over the room, trying to figure out who this mysterious young socialite was that the youngest Ootori was escorting. It was sort of a pleasant feeling, flaunting her around. He had an amazing woman.

Tamaki had found his date, a beautiful redhead with piercing eyes and an almost snarky way of speaking to everyone. He escorted her through the room, talking and greeting people as he went, when he saw her.

She was on his friend's arm, smile dazzling and going straight up into her eyes. He breathed for a second, before asking his date if she would mind going to say hello.

Ah, there was Tamaki and his lady. Already, he could tell she was all wrong for him, just by the way she carried herself. He was certain he wouldn't need to commit any of their awkward conversation to memory.

Tamaki bowed, kissing Haruhi's hand before he turned to his date. "Lady Eclair, this is my good friend, Kyouya Ootori, and his date, Haruhi Fujioka." He gestured to them in turn, the lady sniffing a bit.

"Fujioka? I don't think I've heard of you before. What business is your family in?" She had a certain effect as she talked; as if everything she said was sarcastic.

"Old money, as it were," Kyouya replied for her. "Tell me, Miss Eclair, what has brought you to Japan, if I may ask?"

She sniffed, flicking her hair back. All this small talk bored her. "Various reasons. I have items of business to discuss with certain individuals here. And... _how_ exactly do you know them, Tamaki?" she asked, leaning back a bit like whispering, voice normal volume, and flicked her finger out to point for a second.

Haruhi watched her, brow slightly furrowed. Why was Tamaki-Senpai with her? She didn't seem right. She was too... sharp for him.

"I can see that the two of you have things to discuss," Kyouya replied, a sharp edge hidden in his voice. "I'll leave you to it. Haruhi?" He offered her an arm. There was something sneaky about this woman that he didn't like.

She accepted it, bobbing a bit. "It was a pleasure, Miss Eclair. We'll see you later, Tamaki-Senpai."

Tamaki sent them both a pained look, obviously wishing they could have stayed for longer. "Enjoy the party, Haruhi," he said, tilting his head a bit. She really was incredible tonight. He turned to the lady. "We met at school. Would you like some punch?"

Kyouya made the decision to come and rescue his friend later that night. For now, he didn't want Eclair around Haruhi. She seemed to be looking for a reason to discredit everyone in the room. A dangerous sort of person, if you had something to hide.

"I don't suggest you make a habit of talking with her."

She squeezed his arm lightly, smiling. "We have better things to do anyway, right? Tonight, dancing is one of my top priorities."

"I'm glad to hear it," he replied. Yes, dancing sounded like a perfect way to get his mind of off things. He quickly scanned the room for any other threats, waiting for the music to begin.

It started as a soft violin tune.

"Shall we?" he asked.

She let go of his arm, holding out her hands. "It would be my pleasure," she said, taking in his expression, once again musing how she must be the luckiest person in the whole world.

Soon, the beat fell into a steady rhythm, his feet following suit as he guided her through the steps. She'd gotten so good at this as of late. It was a pleasure just to watch her, to be honest. He was quite proud to have her.

His muscles relaxed under fingers, in turn relaxing her. "You seem to be quite skilled, Sir," she said, turning with him, feeling more graceful than she'd ever felt.

"You've got a bit of talent, yourself," he replied. This was going to be a real date, including the flirty chitchat that he, until recently, thought he detested.

"Well," she shrugged lightly, "I learned from the best." In the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of that same dark-haired man she'd seen earlier. The moment was too magical to interrupt though, so she simply tilted her face back up to Senpai. Not _offering _it, per say...

"Is that so?" He lowered his voice, leaning in closer to increase the strange intimacy of the moment. He could see Yuuichi stalking around. He wondered who he managed to drag along as his date.

Not that his brother was going to ruin this for him.

Her hand slipped to grasp his shoulder more firmly. "Yes. My instructor isn't only a good dancer though," her lips slipped into a smirk.

"Oh, I imagine not," he replied. "He must have a multitude of talents... But, for now, I think I'd rather hear more about you."

She smiled, giggled. "You seem to be quite forward. Are you like this with all the girls you dance with?" She spun under his arm.

"Only the ones I intend to take home with me," he replied, with a devilish smirk more befitting a Hitachiin than a cool-headed man like Kyouya.

Her eyes widened, cheeks coloring before she snorted. "You Sir, are very presumptuous. I'm sure there are a number of people who would be _more_ than willing to take me home for the night. Why should I go with you?"

"I believe I've adequate time to convince you," he replied. "I can be quite charming."

The song was winding down. She stepped in, breath on his face, "Alright. You have my permission to prove it, then."

"Oh, I will," he replied, his voice mellow. "Perhaps you'd like some refreshment before the next dance?"

She nodded, releasing him softly. "Senpai," she asked, leaning in to him, "Is that man over there related to you? He looks so much like your family."

He glanced over his shoulder. A casual motion. Maybe if he didn't think he was paying any attention, the man would leave them alone. "Ah, yes," he replied. "That would be my older brother, Yuuichi."

She studied him for a moment, nodding slightly. "It's obvious. He has your eyes, Se-" She looked up at him, looping her arm through his, "Kyouya."

It still brought a warm feeling to his chest when she said his name. Ah, what a sappy fool he was becoming. "Don't pay him any mind."

She reached up to play with one of the curls. "If you say so." Pursing her lips, she realized they were still saturated with 'kissable gloss' (according to Kaoru), and got distracted enough to forget the appearance of a new Ootori. "Shall we proceed to the refreshments, then?"

"Ah, of course." He guided her to the refreshments table, still stealing occasional glances at her. She just looked so... sophisticated tonight. He offered her a cup of punch. "Things seem to be going well so far."

She took a hesitant sip, testing this new drink out before she dove in. She stared into it; this was some kind of juice? "Yes, it's been quite calm. Is this how parties like this are supposed to go?"

"Ideally," he replied. So long as the older guests didn't drink too much, or the 'mold breakers' like Akito didn't start getting rowdy. Not that he would do such a thing in Father's presence.

Speaking of which, Yoshio had seen them dancing and broke away from his business colleagues. He strode over, admiring the girl openly (at least for him). "Good evening," he said, kissing her hand briefly and nodding to his son. "I trust you are both enjoying the party."

"It's a pleasure, as always, Father," Kyouya replied, scoping the room for someone who looked like his father's type.

He directed his attention to the girl. "And you look more ravishing than usual, Miss Haruhi. I hope you will save me a dance before the evening is gone?"

She shifted, cup in one hand and Senpai's arm gripped in the other. "Thank you. It would be my pleasure, of course. If my date can spare me, that is."

"I think I could manage for a time," her date replied, giving his father a very suspicious stare. So, now he approved of her? His father was as unreadable as ever.

He smirked faintly. "Good. Kyouya, your mother is here tonight. Be sure to at least say hello." He bowed curtly, retreating into the crowd.

Haruhi blinked. With no reference to a mother anywhere current in his life, hearing Ootori-san bring one up so flippantly was off-putting. "Your mother?"

Kyouya hid a grimace. "That is what he said," Kyouya replied. He would say hello, of course... Just not right this moment. "Perhaps I should introduce you to of a few of the family's business partners." Some of them had been pressuring him to find a woman for ages.

She nodded, still curious, but mostly just happy to be on his arm. "If you wish. I'll try not to burp or anything too heinous." She turned glittering eyes to him.

"I have the utmost confidence in you," he replied. He slipped an arm around her shoulders, and went to show her off.

He spent a good portion of the night introducing Haruhi to all sorts of important sounding people. He seemed very careful about avoiding other members of his family tonight. He wondered if Father had even explained the Haruhi situation to Yuuichi yet. What an interesting conversation that would have turned out to be.

Head spinning a bit from all the new names and faces, Haruhi paused after yet another CEO bowed away. "Your memory of names is astounding, Sir." she breathed in, clearing her head. "I applaud you."

"A necessary trait in the business word," he replied. "You'll get better with time, I assure you."

Lips stretched into a new smile, she sighed, "I certainly hope so; or else I might have to borrow your brain every time I greet someone."

"I'm sure it won't come to that," Kyouya replied with a small smile.

"And just who is this young lady, Kyouya?" called a mock stern voice.

Oh, dear. It was only a matter of time. Kyouya turned to greet the new arrival. A young woman, bright and cheery despite her Ootori features. "Good evening, Fuyumi."

Haruhi turned, a cheerful, pretty face beaming back at her. She looked to Senpai. Who was this? He hadn't used an honorific like he had for anyone else. "Good evening," she said, not knowing what else to say.

"Fuyumi, this is Haruhi." He motioned to the lady at his side. "Haruhi, this is Fuyumi."

"'Haruhi,' is it?" Kyouya's sister reached out to take her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet someone who can handle my little brother."

She shook the hand, confusedly putting together the pieces _Little brother_? That's Senpai's sister? He had a sister? "And you, Miss Fuyumi. It's a shame we haven't met before; you're Kyouya's sister?"

"That's right!" She replied. "And you're his..." She looked tickled at the thought. "Girlfriend?"

Her face flushed deeply. "Hardly." She cleared her throat. "Se- Kyouya, I wasn't aware she was coming tonight." She smirked, trying to clear her face of that ridiculous blush.

"Ah, yes," Kyouya replied. "now you can finally meet her, eh?"  
>It was hard to believe this bubbly girl was an Ootori. "Yes, I'd been borrowing clothes," she said, blunt and unclear.<p>

Fuyumi giggled. "Oh, you've been borrowing clothes from him, have you?" That certainly screamed 'girlfriend' to her.

Haruhi colored worse. Stupid, stupid, girl. Of course. "No, not from him. I had to borrow some clothes recently though, which I never got to thank you for. Your clothes. Not Senpai's." She slipped, not thinking about his title.

Fuyumi smiled at her. "Oh, don't worry about it, sweetie. I'm just glad those old things are seeing some use." She gave Kyouya a conspiratorial grin. "So, where did the two of you meet?"

"This is highly unnecessary," Kyouya sighed.

Haruhi grinned. For some reason, she was beginning to feel very comfortable around this girl. "We met on the road. Nothing special. Right, Senpai?" She grinned up at him, trying her best to convey innocence.

Well said. "Indeed. We've hardly known each other for an entire semester."

"Oh, really? And you've already invited her to a dance?" She nudged at Haruhi. "To tell you the truth, I've never seen my brother _choose_ to take someone out. You must be a real catch."

She laughed. "Only at the right price. I feel bad now about taking your clothes, Miss Fuyumi. I can have them sent back, if you like."

"Oh, don't be silly," she replied. "They'd look much better on you! Don't you think so, Kyouya?"

For some reason, he couldn't help but feel he was being teased somehow.

Haruhi liked her. "Well, since he's at a loss, I have to say you should visit sometime."

She let out a cheery laugh. She didn't sound like anyone else in her family, that much was clear. "Oh, I'd like that! Just where_ are_ you living, Haruhi?" She gave her brother another one of those looks.

Haruhi had to think carefully before she spoke. After all, Senpai did seem to want most of their affairs (unfortunately not literal ones), kept private. "Kyouya graciously offered me one of the guest bedrooms. I was very grateful." In which both statements weren't entirely false.

"Oh, well that was uncommonly generous of you, Kyouya." She put a hand on his shoulder. "You're not bleeding her for a profit, are you?"

"No, Fuyumi," he replied, biting back a sigh. Always in other people's business. How did her husband deal her on a regular basis?

Haruhi bit back a laugh. She'd never seen anyone so easily get under his skin (except for Tamaki-Senpai, whom was almost never meaningfully trying to). It was unexpected, to say the least. She gestured to herself. "Not openly, at least," she said teasingly.

Kyouya wondered exactly what that was supposed to mean.

"You watch this one, Haruhi!" She tugged at his shoulder. "He's got more tricks up his sleeve than you could count." She pretended to whisper in Kyouya's ear. "And you watch her, Kyouya. She looks like she could give even you a run for your money."

"I see my siblings are in good spirits tonight."

Haruhi heard the voice come from behind her. She turned to find the bespeckled, dark-haired man from earlier. Yuuichi, was it?

"I was wondering when I'd get a chance to see you tonight!" Fuyumi beamed. "Kyouya, have you introduced Haruhi to Yuuichi yet?"

"I've not had the opportunity," Kyouya replied, eying the older man. 'Nor the desire,' he thought.

Yuuichi, ever stoic and business-like, didn't let his brother see the quick assessment he took of this new face. "Fuyumi, Kyouya." He nodded to each in turn. "And I assume this is your date, Kyouya. Father certainly is apt at cleaning up the street trash, isn't he?"

Haruhi tensed, the words extremely poignant and cutting. Her fingers curled over Senpai's arm.

Kyouya felt is pulse quicken. He ground his teeth, before wrapping an arm around Haruhi's waist. "She is my date, yes. And I'll tell you that Father had nothing to do with it. I chose her personally." He looked to Haruhi. "Haruhi, this is my brother. Please excuse him. He can be quite lacking in social graces."

Yuuichi also lacked the trademark Ootori smirk. Instead, he pushed up his glasses and frowned. "Haruhi. I don't think I've ever heard of her, Kyouya." He grimly addressed his brother instead of the girl. "Does she come from a family of standing?"

Haruhi's blood was beginning to boil. He wasn't even talking directly to her, now? "No, I don't. Thank you for asking, though. You have heard of me _now _though, and will be hearing of me quite often in the future, so I suppose the past really doesn't matter, does it?"

Kyouya hid the grin in his eyes behind the glare of his glasses. It was nice to see that she could handle herself. He turned his eyes to his brother. It wasn't often he was so thoroughly lashed.

Yuuichi's eyes flickered, then he shrugged. "I suppose that I'll have to dance with you, then. Don't make me wait when I come to collect you." He bowed, stepping away.

Haruhi gave his retreating form a sniff. "You didn't tell me he was so charming," she said, looking at her escort.

"That detail must have slipped my mind," he replied, watching his brother's stiff retreat.

"Oh, don't mind him." Fuyumi waved her hand. "You won't have to put up with him much after tonight. He never visits, if you hadn't noticed." Despite her brother's attitude, she seemed a little put out by that fact.

The music was starting again, and an escape to the dance floor sounded perfect right now. Haruhi rubbed her first finger on Senpai's arm lightly, hoping he would notice to sweep her away.

Of course, Kyouya was trained to recognize when a lady required his attention. "Would you like another dance?" he asked.

Fuyumi did a very unsubtle job of hiding a grin behind her manicured fingers. She could barely suppress the little 'aw' creeping into her throat. "Well, I'll leave you two alone. I've got a husband who's probably very lonely right now."

Smiling genuinely, "It was certainly a pleasure, Miss Fuyumi." She let Senpai lead her out to the dance floor, the feel of his suit jacket entrancing under her fingertips. Something about the rich fabric made him feel a bit less... familiar than he usually did. It definitely secured the feeling of a real date. "Your family is certainly varied, Kyouya," she said, holding her hands out for him to take.

"You could say that," he replied as he took her hands. He paused until the music began, and picked up as they began to dance. "There's a very good reason I don't often speak of them."

She smiled lightly, following his lead comfortably. "Having a family to not talk about is better than having no family to not talk about though, right?"

Oops. "I suppose," he replied quietly, breaking eye contact while dancing for the first time that night. She was carrying herself so very well tonight, it was easy to forget exactly where she came from.

She squeezed his shoulder gently. "Hey," she said, smiling for him, "It's okay. I have family now, eh?"

That brought a little grin to the corner of his face. "Yes, you do..." Was now a good time? Should he just... say it?

"Pardon me." Akito slid between the two, cutting into their little dance. "I think you've had Haruhi to yourself for long enough."

She regarded him with a somewhat chilly expression. "How do you do, Akito-Kun?" Fine. Get this over with now. Then only two more dances of not-Senpai Ootori awkwardness before she wouldn't have to talk to any of them again for a while.

"Well enough," he replied, moving gracefully, but quickly, to the music. "This whole event's been rather dull though, hasn't it?"

She had to think about the dancing now that Senpai wasn't here. Akito's movements were faster... sharper? "I wouldn't have anything to compare it to." she responded dully, hands resting as lightly as possible on him.

He chuckled. "No, I guess not." He spun her around, just a touch quicker than she was used to. "How are you enjoying your first party?"

It was too quick. She missed a step coming in, toppling her just lightly into him. "Certain aspects have been wonderful," she remarked, monotone. She righted herself quickly, hoping Senpai hadn't seen that.

"Oh yeah? I didn't take you for the party-going type," he replied, pulled her a bit closer into himself. "Seems like you'd be out of place."

She grimaced at the proximity. "Then it seems you don't know me very well, do you?" She glared up at him (wondering, suddenly, if he was actually shorter than his brother).

"It's not my fault Kyouya keeps you locked up all day," he replied. A little peasant, locked in the tower. How very sad.

She regarded him coolly. "That's hardly the case. Perhaps I choose to avoid you."

"Ouch," he replied with a grimace. "I'm starting to see why Kyouya likes you so much."

She sniffed. "And why he doesn't mention you."

"Oh, he doesn't?" He didn't sound terribly surprised. "I'd chalk it up to jealousy, myself."

Lifting an eyebrow, she responded dryly, "Of your many admirable traits, I would assume."

"Heh, nothing like that," he replied. He loosened his grip on her as the music began to wind down. "I mean, if Yuuichi screws up, the family business goes to me, first."

She let go as soon as the music stopped. "I'm sure. It's been a _real_ pleasure, Akito-Kun. I hope you enjoy your time at the party." She bowed her head slightly.

He gave her a grin, something dark hidden beneath the expression. "Yeah thanks for the dance, kid."

She immediately looked for Senpai, wanting nothing more than to escape Akito's sight. She felt a tap from behind.

"Hello, Princess." She turned to find a blonde head in a bow before her. "Are you enjoying your time?" He smiled at her, looking a tad more pinched than usual.

"Tamaki-Senpai," she looked around for his date. "Um, fine."

Kyouya, of course, hadn't wandered far from Haruhi. He wanted to keep an eye on her, especially when Akito showed up. He felt a strong wave of relief when Tamaki showed up for her.

She shook her head a bit, sending her curls into a frenzy. "I mean, yes, I am having a good time. Are you?"

Tamaki's eyes had flicked to the dance floor, Haruhi's following them to the sharp, beautiful, redhead from earlier. "A gentleman always enjoys himself in the presence of a lady," he said, smiling for her, though his eyes weren't quite in it. "You look... incredible, Haruhi." He took her hand, sweeping his eyes dramatically over her. "You look-" He paused, "Kyouya is the luckiest man in the room tonight."

"I hope you're treating my date well," Kyouya said as he stepped up to the two. Ah, he'd managed to ditch Eclair on his own.

Tamaki released her hand. "Of course. I did want to ask if she'd be up for a dance sometime during the evening, though."

Haruhi turned to Senpai, too. Maybe it was old habits, but she wanted permission.

"It's the lady's choice, of course," Kyouya replied, motioning to Haruhi. "She's very popular tonight, it would seem."

She slipped her hand shyly into her date's (which did not go unnoticed by Tamaki). "I would be honored, Tamaki-Senpai." She smiled. "Although right now I could use some punch."

Tamaki perked up desperately. "Punch! The lady needs punch! I'll go and get you som-"

Eclair was there, suddenly. "Unless you're getting that for _me_, I'd rather you didn't."

Hm. Interesting reaction. "Actually, I was headed that way, myself. Why don't the four of us go? I would love to hear more about your family, Miss Tonnaire."

She regarded him, letting out a small noise of indigence when she realized who _he_ was. "I'm quite tired, actually. Tamaki, do be a dear and get me some punch from _that_ bowl over there," she pointed to the opposite side of the room. "I like the flavor better."

Tamaki didn't complain, but nodded woodenly before giving his friends a stiff bow. "Of course, my Princess."

Kyouya certainly hope Tamaki's grandmother didn't expect anything to blossom tonight. Even he could see that this was a bad match. "Well then, if you'll excuse us." Kyouya bowed, before taking Haruhi's hand once more to retrieve her punch

Haruhi snuck one last glance at the lady, musing that she didn't look quite happy. But tonight was about making her... significant other? happy. She unlaced their hands and slipped hers through his arm instead. Squeezing it gently, she murmured, "Hello again, Kyouya Ootori." A tiny smile danced over her lips.

He grinned back at her. "Haruhi Fujioka. Welcome back." He reached across to stroke her arm with his free hand. "I hope things aren't too much for you."

She leaned into him in something like a hug. "No. You're here, anyway. So I don't worry."

He tilted his head towards her, nuzzling at her very briefly, before remembering where he was. He straightened himself out self consciously. "That aside, I believe we've fulfilled our obligations. As soon as I make an appearance for my mother, we can leave."

She flushed, just slightly, and half-shrugged. "Have you even seen her yet?" She hadn't seen anyone particularly... Fuyumi-looking, but then she had no idea what the woman looked like.

"Not yet," he replied.

Not entirely true. He was sure he'd seen snatches of her amongst the crowd during the night. He'd simply put off approaching her for the time being. But, of course, social standard dictated that it had to happen at some point.

Before they reached the punch table though, and before Haruhi got the chance to respond, Yuuichi was there. "The time has come for you to fulfill your obligation to me," he said, bowing slightly, the lack of finesse dripping from his ears.

Oh, the melodrama. He still hadn't outgrown that. "Actually, the two of us were just about to leave. Have you seen Mother?"

Yuuichi frowned, as if the thought of his kid brother rejecting his wishes was foreign. Adjusting his tie, he nodded. "I spoke with her a moment ago. She's speaking with colleagues in _that _direction." He gestured.

Haruhi smiled formally. "Thank you, Yuuichi-Kun." They turned to go, and she felt something pinch at her rear. Jumping slightly, she turned to look, but no one was facing her. She squeezed Senpai's arm a bit more tightly.

Kyouya gave his brother a curt nod before turning, keeping a firm hold on Haruhi. Father would probably hear about this in the future. Oh well. It wasn't like he wanted the rest of his sons fraternizing with 'peasants.'

Yoshio Ootori hadn't married a fool. She'd been watching her family distantly, completely miffed by their lack of manners. She air-kissed her 'friend' goodbye, rolling her eyes casually as the lady turned from her. Women could be so _petty. _

Haruhi cocked her head, looking over this lady, becoming more and more shocked that she was related to Senpai. Although, she could already tell they shared the same eyes. "She's striking," she murmured.

"She does stand out, yes," Kyouya replied. He still had very mixed feelings for this woman.

He approached her, limbs stiff, and gave her a polite bow. "Good evening, Mother."

The parent in question waved a hand dismissively. "You haven't spoken to me in ages, Kyouya. Why start now?" She seemed to notice the girl on her son's arm then, squinting at her. "Is this the trash you've dragged in?" She looked over the little wretch, wincing at the dress. "My, my, she's worse than I expected. Although, _dear,_ I heard that that color may come back...eventually." She sniffed and upturned her head a bit.

"Please do forgive her, Mother," Kyouya replied. "She's far too focused on more meaningful pursuits to keep up with the world of fashion."

Haruhi wasn't so sure about any of this. "Actually, Ma'am, I received this piece from a friend of mine who's mother is a designer. Hitachiin, although you've probably heard of her. I can't imagine anything she had a hand in would even be slightly out of date."

The woman's eyes widened with shock. "Kyouya, what have you taught this mongrel? Your father told me about her, and I could imagine her lack of grace, but this?" She fanned herself angrily. "This is too much. Get her out of my sight."

"Ah, Haruhi, I think you've frightened her. She doesn't care much for women who might steal her spotlight," Kyouya explained, keeping his eyes on the older woman the whole time. "It's been a pleasure, as always, Mother." He bowed once more. "I'll leave you to your... 'friends.'"

The woman sniffed. "No hug for Mummy? Very well. I always knew I raised Akito better, anyway." She waved her hand again, as if erasing them from her sight.

Haruhi took a deep breath. Infuriating!

Kyouya clenched his fists. Fine. It wasn't as though he cared about that woman's opinion of him. If she wanted to go dote on her favorite, so be it.

"Let's go home."

She could tell he was pissed. "Hey," she called quietly, pulling him away from the glittering, beautiful, rich, _fake_, crowd, and toward the entrance. "You know she was lying, don't you?" She took his hand, massaging it lightly with both of her own.

"Of course she was," he replied. He remained tense, despite her touch. Yet another reason he detested social outings. They always ended up grinding his gears in one way or another. "I haven't believed a word out of that woman's mouth in years-" He relaxed, with a sigh. "I apologize. This has nothing to do with you."

She lifted his hand to her mouth, placing a kiss on the knuckles gently. "Ah, but it does," she smiled coyly. "You can't get rid of me now, Kyouya Ootori." She reached for his other hand, running circles over the back of both. "You know what my mother would say if she were here?"

He met her eyes. "What would she say?"

She let out a sigh. "She would say that the evidence is inconclusive to prove you are anything other than what you appear to be, which, obviously, is a very good-hearted man." She dropped their hands down, still clasped, to move a bit closer, "And if she knew you, she would be proud. She would hang up your things next to mine on the walls and the fridge." Her throat was becoming tighter, her eyes welling a bit. "And when people came over, she would brag, because such a good man had found her daughter."

She was crying. He couldn't handle it when she cried.

And she was so wrong. So, so wrong. And yet, he could almost believe her. He could almost think he might be a good person.

He turned, taking both her hands in his. "Haruhi." He brought her hands up, kissing each one. "Thank you, Haruhi. it means a lot to me..."

He should say it now. He should tell her.

She sniffed, backhanding her tears and mourning the loss of the carefully-applied makeup. "Well, _you_ mean a lot to me, Kyouya." She knew her cheeks were flushed with crying, and her eyes were probably growing puffy, and maybe there was snot coming out of her nose, but she meant it. And no one had ever meant this much...

She turned her eyes to the floor, wanting to apologize for making an otherwise beautiful night awkward with tears, but she absolutely couldn't take it back. She'd meant it too much, the words so long waiting for the right recipient. She sniffed again, squeezing his hands and thinking again how amazed she was that she'd finally found someone so... incredible.

Kyouya pulled her closer, before she could see the moisture growing in the corners of his eyes. This was all... too much. He kissed the top of her head.

"I love you," he breathed, the words so foreign, yet so _right._

She froze. Had he really just...? Her hands had gone to wrap around him, trying to find purchase in the slippery, rich material of his suit coat. She wasn't too dirty to touch it, at least not tonight. Her face was buried in his chest, drinking in the gentle attention, as her brain spun with... had she really heard right?

She absolutely didn't want to look back on tonight with regrets, though. She pulled him in, leaning on his sturdy posture for balance. "I... love you too, Kyouya." I love you! I want to be yours forever!

And he kissed her. He wasn't going to hold back anymore. Not after tonight. It was a sweet, gentle kiss, and only lasted for a few seconds. But it contained all of the words he'd never said.

"Let's go home, Haruhi."

She was floating. The car pulled up to the entrance, the door opened promptly. But Haruhi was dreamily following Senpai-wait, _Kyouya_, to the limo, her surroundings negotiable at that point.

He still, almost, couldn't believe he'd said it. After all this time, swearing that he wouldn't. Telling himself it would ruin her. Telling her she would do better.

And he'd told her.

And he was happy.

She curled up against him, blissfully happy as the chauffeur shut them in. Head on his shoulder, she felt as if nothing in her past mattered, and everything in her future was going to be bright. And even if it wasn't, tonight mattered now. She wanted_ tonight_ to look back on, just in case. She threaded her fingers through his. "So," she said, her voice hardly above a whisper, "Do you love me more than your fans?"

Kyouya snickered. "I think, perhaps, a bit. And what about you? Will I have to contend with hordes of girls after your affections every day?"

Haruhi laughed aloud. "Hardly." The Host Club. She was beginning to realize how much she appreciated that strange, bizarre, wonderful world Tamaki had created. "What about coffee? Certainly you couldn't love anything more than that."

"Well, it is a rather close call," he admitted. "But, I suppose if it came down to it, I could still choose you, first."

She smirked, nuzzling into his shoulder tenderly. "And what would you do if I fell off a cliff?"

"Oh, my dear." He put an arm around her shoulder, playing at her slowly unraveling curls. "I'm afraid I couldn't allow that to happen in the first place."

She shivered, his voice intoxicating. "How would you stop it?" Her voice grew more quiet. "What if I were pushed? What if they were much bigger than you?"

"Ah, I would simply have to use my wits." He planted another kiss, just below her ear. "I could make this assailant of yours very miserable."

Her whole body shuddered with delight, her head immediately tilting back in case he wasn't done. "Miserable?" She was melting into him; she had never quite realized how perfectly she fit. Right now, she couldn't imagine him making_ anything_ miserable. "What about your money?" Her brain tried to warn her that this could be dangerous waters here. "Do you love that more than me?"

His arm slid down, taking her gently around the waist. He locked eyes with her. "I would trade every cent, if I had to."

Her eyes widened slightly, her lips parting to let out a short breath for a moment. "You seem to love me quite a lot then." They were so close; her voice was breathy and quiet.

"Oh, I do," he replied, bringing his lips to hers once more. He stopped just short of contact. "I've loved you for quite some time."

"Even when I was dirty, before you?" She closed the distance, but didn't have the willpower to override her stupid training voice in her head, pressing into the corner of his mouth instead.

"You've always been incredible, Haruhi." He brushed his fingers under her chin, before tugging her further, their lips finally meeting.

She breathed into it, for once not thinking of what she did or didn't deserve, and simply enjoyed it. One of her hands had crawled up to brace against his jaw, the other buried in his soft, smooth locks.

Small though it was, he simply couldn't stand the distance between them. Arm still around her, he pulled her closer, drawing her up into his lap. He wasn't the most experienced kisser, but his passion, now finally allowed release, more than made up for it.

She released her hold on him to adjust her skirt; once it was pulled up to her knees she could straddle his lap more easily, and she did so, happy to close the little room left between them. Both hands tangled in his hair now, she let herself go in the kiss, licking his lip softly and nibbling gently. She knew those lips had always looked appetizing, and now she could honestly say that they were as soft and nice as she'd imagined. She moaned softly into him.

The sound sent chills throughout him, spurring him on. His breath, he realized, had caught. He now took in a deep, hungry breath, catching a hint of the subtle, vanilla perfume the twins had selected for her. It suited her quite well.

His hands slid further and further down her back, the silken fabric holding no friction to slow him down.

He hesitated. For so long, she'd been forbidden to him. Once he crossed the line, there was no going back...

She broke away, breathlessly saying, "Wait, Kyouya." She refocused her eyes to find his.

Ah, good. He drew his hands back, as though she had shocked him. He was going too far. "Sorry," he muttered.

She giggled, still catching her breath. "No, I just- Don't you think we should wait until we get home?" She let her nose bump his gently, "I can't ruin this dress."

Oh. He chuckled. It was just sort of funny, this whole situation. He'd almost forgotten about the dress, the makeup, the whole miserable party. "Yes, of course. Wise decision." He let his hands rest at his sides, willing himself to keep them off of her.

Her phone buzzed, and she crawled off of him. She glanced at the text briefly, murmuring, "We're almost there anyway," she paused to grin shyly at him, ignoring the curious questions Hikaru had sent her.

Of course they were. Everything was very close together at this end of town. Still, the wait seemed very long to him. He held his hand in hers as he awaited their arrival.

The car pulled up quickly, though not soon _enough_, and she tried not to wiggle out of impatience.

Chaffing opened the door for the two. He seemed oddly chipper tonight.

Kyouya took her hands, pulling her out of the car. He gave Chaffing a polite nod as he tugged Haruhi into the house.

She laughed quietly, slipping off her shoes in the entrance of the darkened house. It almost felt criminal, slipping through the shadows of the mansion, hand in hand. All the servants were in bed, or gone, and the rest of the family was still at the party. She tugged him to a stop before his door, though. "Wait."

He came to a stop. He took a quiet breath to center himself. "Of course."

She set her shoes down gently, sneaking a smile at him. "You have to carry me in." She flicked her hair out of her eyes. "Don't you?"

He let out a little laugh. "What's this about suddenly expecting the world from me?" He swept her up off the floor. "Even I can only do so much." He kicked off his shoes, leaving them for the maids to straighten up. He carried her through the door as he nuzzled at her nose.

She laughed, kicking her legs happily. "Oh, excuse me. I was under the impression you could do anything." She ran her fingers along his shoulders.

"Almost," he replied. He crossed the room, and lowered her to the bed. He shrugged out of his jacket, before sliding in next to her.

She rolled over to her side, pulling him closer. "Mmm," she kissed his chin, her fingers working at his tie. "I think you're being too hard on yourself," she murmured, winking at him, and leaned down to take it in her teeth. She pulled it from his neck slowly, throwing it to the floor.

He shivered. She knew how to please a man, he knew that.

Ah, which brought him back to all this 'good person' business. "Before we-" He couldn't bring himself to stop her. "Start. Do you understand why I've been hesitant?"

She skipped her fingertips along his collarbone. "No." His skin was so soft; she couldn't get enough of it. She let her hand slip under his shirt to slowly explore his well-muscled shoulders.

He shuddered under her touch once more. "It's because I want you to experience what the world has to offer," he replied. He wasn't even convincing himself anymore. Arms around her, he slid his hands down to find their way up her bunched dress. "I want you to know what else there is, before..." He brought her lips to his once more.

Her hands went to his buttons, feeling along his sides hungrily. She pulled away first, after thoroughly at his nibbling his bottom lip. Gasping a bit, she breathed, "So now you're not hesitant?" She pulled at her skirt with one hand to let him explore further.

"No." Not entirely true. There would always be the nagging at the back of his mind... But, for now, they were both happy. That couldn't be a bad thing, could it?

With his free hand, he reached around to find the invisible zipper at the back of the dress. Slowly, his fingers jittering with nerves, he pulled it down.

She smirked, glad to have worn her nice underwear tonight. "So you just can't stay away then?" She shrugged the top down, letting it pool around her breasts for him to finish.

He nuzzled against her neck, his hands working at sliding the silken dress down the length of her features. Very slowly. "No, I suppose not. You make yourself very difficult to resist."

She kissed his silky hair, chuckling a bit. "I could say the same for you." She ran her fingers along his ears, letting them trickle down to the stems of his glasses. "Although you look quite a bit more dashing without _these._"

"Really? I always thought of them as a selling point." He let her finish getting the dress up, his attention drawn to new articles of clothing. He leaned in for another kiss, no longer content to just sit and talk. They'd had plenty of time for that.

She kicked the dress off, sending it sliding off the bed in a heap. "Well, maybe not right now," she whispered, her body already heating under his tender kisses. Her hands moved back to his buttons, and she leaned up to follow her fingers with her mouth, kissing and sucking in a trail where his shirt had been.

Her bra undone, his fingers trailed down her spine, separating to rest on her hips. He hesitated at the band of her panties. It seemed like such a final thing, this next step. Well, no going back now, he told himself again.

She placed her hands gingerly on his shoulders. Her skin was burning wherever he touched her, and she half-wished he would move back to her chest for a bit longer. "Go on," she prodded softly, panting quietly.

"As you wish." He slid them down, leaving her perfectly exposed to him. That done, he swiftly moved to undo his belt, his body moving too slow for his racing mind.

Running her hands along his jaw, she pulled him in, ignoring her mind for once to kiss him again. Her body moved on its own, pushing up for more friction between them.

Kyouya let a soft moan escape him. His pants finally out of the way, underwear following, he wrapped an arm tightly around her, hand running down to feel her. "My, my," he said, smirking but unable to bring up any other intelligible word. She was becoming quite soaked.  
>He fondled her for a moment before his hormones demanded release, replacing his hand at her entrance, and kissed her forehead before pushing in much more gently than he would have liked.<p>

She'd been caught up in kissing his jaw so she hadn't been expecting it, crying out in a mixture of pain and surprise at the sudden entrance. "Ah! Kyouya!" She clung to his shoulder, his hair. Her hips moved a bit, every glance at his expression completely unbearable, and she couldn't remember a time when she'd been so alert during intimacy.

Another hot shiver shook his body. He couldn't even stop to take in what she'd said to him, so trapped in the moment he was.

They'd begun to rock, together, separately, into each other like the dances they'd been partaking in not hours before. They'd been waiting for so long, she knew neither of them would last very long, and she wasn't sure if he wanted to take any risks. As they began to emerge from the cautiousness at the beginning, she was gasping for air, but she managed to breathlessly gasp, "Kyouya!" Unfortunately, the heat of the moment was a bit overwhelming, and she couldn't get any of the other words out. In fact, the other words had skipped away, merrily leaving her to just _feel _what he was doing to her.

It wasn't until he was finished that he managed to whisper her name as he fell into place beside her. "Haruhi."

He lay there beside her, still catching his breath. She was... wonderful.

Her post-definitely-orgasmic senses wandering along slowly, she took a few deep breaths. She wanted to crawl over and kiss his defenseless belly all over, but her muscles were still tight, not quite movable yet. Did this mean... she was a _lover_ now? She grinned sloppily to herself. She'd never been one of those before.

After a few moments, his breathing slowed. He put an arm around her, pulling her into his chest, his eyes slowly sliding closed. "I love you." He said it again. And he dared anyone to just try and take her away.

She buried herself into the embrace, confusingly a bit embarrassed that she was still naked. She worked her arm up to lightly hug his back. Running her fingertips lightly against his spine, she made a contented sound. "It seems that way, doesn't it?" she said into his chest, giving up her almost-teasing to simply pull him even closer.

He tilted his head, buried his face in her soft, curled hair. "I do," he said, punctuating the remark with a kiss. He held back a drowsy yawn.

Slipping her leg sleepily between his, she pulled their legs into a lovely, tangled pile that is perfectly acceptable for lovers. "That's good," she remarked, kissing his chest before going off into a big yawn. "Because I love you, too." Vaguely, the thought passed that she would have liked to have more time to just _kiss_ him. Everywhere. Especially on the mouth, because she liked that, but everywhere. Just not tonight. She turned her head slightly up. "I don't think I'm going to sleep on the couch tonight, alright?"

"I wouldn't hear of it," he replied, with a sleepy grin. "I'm afraid you won't be leaving my arms tonight."

She laughed, languidly. "That Sir, you won't hear any protest on." She pulled her head into a comfortable position, happily sighing. "Hey, Senpai?"

"Hmmm?" he asked, sliding out of his half-sleeping trance.

"I, um..." She fought for words, coming up dreadfully short. "Thank you," she managed, "For everything. Because... I love you."

"Of course, Haruhi," he replied, letting his mind wander sleepily once more. "Of course..." He drifted off.


	28. Commence

It was easy to sleep with Kyouya Ootori tangled around you, and Haruhi slept deeply and dreamlessly all night. As they'd finally hit the weekend, the alarms weren't even set for the morning.

Groggily, Haruhi's mind began to creak into motion, wondering what all this _stuff _was around her.

Oh, _yeah._ Right. _That._

Even in her muddled state, she still felt a jolt of coy satiation wash over her when she thought about it. "Kyouya," she called, willing her voice to sound at least semi-pretty, "Wake up." She nuzzled against his chest, sighing and kissing it a few times.

Last night almost seemed a happy dream by now. But as her voice wiggled delightfully through his mind, he realized that it was all true. She was in bed with him, her smile infectious, and their bodies warm against each other. It had really happened. He'd really said it, and now they were here.

Together. Happy.

"Good morning," he said, and meant it.

She tilted up to face him, neck braced against his arm at a precarious angle. She smiled brightly, though a bit sleepy still, and reached for a kiss. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

"Better than ever," he replied, still not quite awake enough to filter out his less eloquent thoughts. "I assume you slept well?" He usually didn't sleep well if she didn't.

She laughed, untucking her arm to thread into his hair. "Of course. You know, I've always been told that lovers sleep well together, but I never guessed how well." She stroked the soft locks fondly, twirling a piece between fingers before going back for more.

"Indeed." He propped himself up on his elbows, giving her face as bright grin. He reached over to the nightstand for his glasses, eager to see her lovely face. She had the most gorgeous afterglow this morning.

She pulled the sheet up to cover herself as he reached away. She smoothed down his hair for a second more before she realized, "Kyouya, it's the weekend."

"So it is," he replied, readjusting his hair for himself, out of habit. "Tell me, what shall I do with my girlfriend this weekend?"

Her heart raced a bit in fluttering excitement at her new, shiny, title. For some reason, she hadn't been expecting it. She grinned, studying his eyes for a second. "Well, what if we went down-" she walked her fingers up his arm, flattening her hand to run back down it a moment later, "-to the beach house, and you know, practice my swimming?"

"The beach, hm?" He propped himself against the bed frame. "I think that can be arranged. As long as we can keep the rest of the club from hearing about it. I think I'd like to keep you to myself for a little while."

Her cheeks slightly flushed, she rolled over to her back. "Sounds like a tough mission. They'll be curious for sure, but we can make up something so good they'll have to believe us." She tilted her head back against the mattress to grin at him.

"You aren't far from mastering the art of deceit, I'll have you know." He sat up properly now, glancing about the room for their clothes. He would have to have that dress properly pressed before returning it. "I do hope you won't use those skills on me, in the future."

She yawned, stretching above her head lazily, wiggling her toes and fingers in unison. She let her arms drop to the bed, still reclined above herself. "And why would I ever need to do that, Sir?" She looked up at him happily, drowsily. "I don't think I would ever have to resort to anything more than batting my pretty little eyelashes at you," she demonstrated, pursing her lips for added pout.

"Ah, all I ask is that you not abuse this new-found power of yours." He pushed himself to the side of the bed, stretching out his well exercised muscles. "I do have a reputation as the Dark Lord."

She flexed her arms, ignoring the enormous lack of muscle there. "I am strong. I do not have to abuse _that_ power, because I am too clever to need it." She stretched again before pushing herself upright, the sheet clutched to her chest. "Anyway, I have to take a shower. Do you mind?"

"Of course not," he replied. "Just leave this." He gathered up a handful of the sheets, rolling over to go back to sleep.

She slid out of bed, creeping across the room to get a new outfit. The floor was covered in their clothes, which had the potential to be quite embarrassing. Her phone was lit up, so she scooped it up to check in the bathroom. She dumped everything on the counter and hopped in the shower quickly, spending extra time in her more sore areas.

He hadn't actually slept in much later. He still had too much to sort through from last night. Many unpleasant things, but those he could put aside for now. Best not spoil the mood.

He gathered up the scattered clothes, calling for the maid to have some dry cleaned and pressed.

She toweled off her hair slowly, taking her time to dress in the loose, comfortable clothes she'd brought in. Slightly wet, she wandered back out to the room, looking at her text messages. "Senpai," she said, squinting into her bag for her glasses, "Tamaki texted me." She pulled the glasses onto her nose.

"Oh?" Oh well. There went those lovely plans for the weekend, he supposed. "And what does the King have to say?"

She read the long message quickly, summarizing: "He's not really talking about anything important... but he doesn't sound right." She went over to climb onto the edge of the bed, stretching out her legs in front of her. "You don't think that Eclair is still with him, do you?"

He held back a disgusted grimace. He certainly hoped not. "He's not the type to spend the night with a lady." Particularly one like that. He reached for the phone, to read the message for himself. "I suppose I should call and see if the night went well."

She nodded, closing her phone softly. She hated to think of any extended time spent with that lady. She seemed to detest everything.

Kyouya skimmed over the message as he flipped open his own phone to dial the Frenchman. Something just didn't quite sit well about that Eclair woman. He held the phone to his ear, and waited.

"Kyouya~! I can't believe you're calling me instead of me calling you! How often does that happen? Wow," he laughed. "Did you have fun at the party? I did. Haruhi looked amazing, too, did you help her pick out that dress? It was pretty," he blabbered until his steam ran out a bit.

"I think you and I would both like to skip the small talk for today," Kyouya replied. "What happened after I left last night?"

There was a long pause, then a quiet sigh. "Nothing. The dance ended."

Haruhi watched Senpai from the bed, curled up under the sheets.

"I see," Kyouya replied. It wasn't like him to wrap things up so concisely. But he seemed determined to keep tight-lipped about it. "I see. And how was it?"

With his other hand, he used Haruhi's phone to text his information agency. They would know what was up.

"Fine. Kyouya, we should do traditional kimonos soon, don't you think?"

"I believe we did that a few months ago," he replied. "It wouldn't do to repeat." He kept an eye on the extra cell.

"Oh." Tamaki fell quiet, a completely unnerving occurrence for anyone listening. "Well, I should probably go, then."

"Are you in a hurry?" Kyouya asked. "You seem somewhat rushed."

He cleared his throat. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did you have something else we need to discuss?"

"Nothing in particular," he replied. "You're just unusually terse this morning."

"Um, no..." he sighed. "Sorry. I'm just tired."

"I see. Very well, then. I suppose I'll talk to you later, then."

"Kyouya!" he stopped. "I mean, yeah. Talk to you later." The phone clicked.

Kyouya furrowed his brow as he snapped the phone shut. That was troubling.

"I have someone on it," he assured Haruhi as he handed back her phone.

She took it, flipping it around nervously. "What did he say? Is he okay?"

"It's hard to say," he replied. He very much doubted it. But he could hardly say such a thing without confirmation. She didn't need to worry about it.

She pursed her lips, wiggling her toes. "Hey, maybe we should take him out somewhere today." She adjusted her glasses on their perch. "Shopping or something. Don't you think? We could have bags packed and leave after."

He supposed that should be sufficient in fulfilling his obligations toward their friendship. He sounded like he needed to get out for a bit. "Why don't you call him? It would make his day."

She smiled faintly, staring at Senpai. "If you think so," she said, picking up the phone and hopping off the bed. She began walking away with it.

Why did good things always seemed to come bundled with horrible, confusing things? Kyouya found some proper clothing and pulled it on. As he waited for her, he began packing both suitcases. He wasn't so sure Tamaki would even agree to this little shopping trip.

She came back a few minutes later, grinning to herself. "Senpai," she protested, noticing the bags, "Why are you packing mine?"

"Are you not confident in my choices?" he asked, as he zipped the bag up with a mysterious smirk. "So? How's Tamaki?"

She shook her head, mystified by this man, and climbed to sit down attentively on the edge of the bed. "Excited. He said he wants to go shopping at the supermarket." She twiddled her fingers, not entirely confident in her next suggestion: "I was thinking maybe I could practice my money handling, while we were there?"

Kyouya nodded. "That sounds like a sensible place to do so," he replied, although why Tamaki would choose to go there was beyond him. Deciphering that man was impossible sometimes. "Are we meeting him there, then?"

She relaxed, nodding. Looking over Senpai's wardrobe choice bubbled up a tiny guffaw, though. "Senpai," she commented, "Maybe we should dress to blend in? I don't think designer labels are going to get us any better deals."

He frowned. She had a point, but... "I'm not sure I own any such disguises," he replied.

She hid a smile behind a thoughtful hand. "What about your beach clothes? That... wonderful Hawaiian shirt is sure to keep you to the background."

"Is that derision I sense?" he said with a grin. He never liked that shirt, but of course, Fuyumi gave it to him. "I suppose I could manage that." He rummaged through his drawers for the rarely-worn garment.

She flipped her fringe in quiet triumph, sliding off the bed to sneak up behind him. "Did you need help with your shirt, Senpai?" she asked coyly, slipping her hands under his shirt and sliding them up slowly.

He flinched. Even after all this time, he wasn't used to such intimate contact. "Haruhi. If we start all of this again, I'm afraid we'll be late for our outing."

She laughed. "Start what? Lift your arms, please. I was just helping you _change_, Senpai."

"Oh, is that all?" He cocked his head over his shoulder to give her a coy look. "It's hard to tell with you."

She slipped it over his head, taking her time to fold it, but didn't break the proximity. "Is it?" She flipped her hair again, out of her eyes. "I'd think it would be quite easy by now." She looked up at him under a fan of half-painted lashes, leftover from last night.

"As would I, but you prove to be consistently mystifying." He tugged at the bottom hem of his shirt until it was properly aligned. "I suppose you've got some peasant clothes, as well?"

She laughed, turning around to put the shirt away. "Most of what I own would work, I think." She tugged at the elastic in her sweatpants. "Or is this too chic?" She looked up from behind the chunky glasses, grinning goofily.

He raised an eyebrow, the corner of his lip threatening to turn up into a grin. "It has a certain charm to it, I must admit. But I feel Tamaki will throw a fit if you dress so far down."

She snorted, pushing her glasses back up her nose. "Ah, I suppose. Well, I picked your clothes; any suggestions for me?"

"Hm." He wandered over to the drawer that she'd been using to store her clothes. "I am rather fond of this one." He produced a very feminine, pink top, one of the cheaper articles her father had bought her, but pleasant nonetheless.

Flattered that he paid close enough attention to how she dressed to have favorites, she shrugged and reached for it. "Alright. I'll change."

"Very well." Kyouya would have done the same, but Haruhi had kindly taken care of his clothes for him. He called Chaffing to have the car ready for them shortly.

That chauffeur still seemed quite cheery.

She slipped into the top, choosing a frilly pair of shorts to go with it. She smoothed everything down, staring at herself in the mirror. She cocked her head, looking over the reflection carefully. The girl staring back didn't look like a victim, or a slave, or a whore. She just looked... happy. Smiling for herself, she went out to find Senpai. "I'm ready," she said, stringing her purse strap over her head.

He reached out to take her hand, placing a well mannered kiss on her knuckles. "You look lovely this morning." He kept hold of her hand on the way out to the car.

Sighing happily, she laid her head on his shoulder as they walked for a moment. "Thank you." She was about to make a similar comment when her stomach rumbled loudly.

"Ah, I suppose we ought to have breakfast before we leave, hm?" He glanced at the clock. No doubt they'd kept something warm for them, at least.

She frowned, still unhappy with the new reality of having to eat _regularly_. "I just want some tea, please," she said immediately, looking up at him, trying to utilize the full extent of her huge chocolate eyes.

He turned to her, but looked away immediately. Oh, those eyes of hers. Although, he supposed she had been putting on sufficient weight as of- Oh, no, she wasn't going to trick him like that. "You'll have much more energy if you eat something."

Haruhi sighed. "I suppose some toast too, then."

"Very good," he replied. It was better than nothing, he reasoned. He gave the chef her request as they passed the kitchen.

"What are you having?" she asked, positive she didn't want anything if he wasn't eating. Her mind was extremely good at ignoring those stupid pangs.

It was still Saturday, wasn't it? "Bagels and lox," he replied, as the butler poured his customary cup of coffee. "Perhaps you'd like to try some?"

She pulled her legs up into the chair, knitting her eyebrows together. "What is it?"

It was shortly after she asked that the butler placed their respective plates before them. "Nothing too exotic, I assure you." He spread cream cheese on his bagel. "It's only smoked salmon."

S-salmon? Her mouth began watering. She certainly knew she liked ootoro. "Um, yes please." She stared at his plate wide-eyed.

He lifted a forkful of salmon, staking it atop the carefully spread cream. "Here you are." He slid it onto her plate. He'd have her eating a proper diet yet.

She watched it, as if expecting it to get more delicious as time went on. "Thank you," she breathed, reverently lifting it to her mouth, forgoing the fork. It melted in her mouth, sending her tastes to ecstasy. "Oh, Senpai." She licked her fingers, "It's incredible."

He smirked. Just as planned. "Would you care for a plate of your own?" He eyed her neglected toast. He had a feeling he wouldn't be seeing that so much in the future.

She swallowed, sipping her tea happily. "Uhh..." She didn't want to give in, but it was _so good._ "Yes please." She hung her head a bit. "If you don't mind."

"Of course not." He nodded toward the ever patient butler, who rushed off to get a second plate. He pushed his plate across the table to her. "Help yourself."

She didn't question it, digging for another piece with her fingers. "You absolutely spoil me too much-" she chewed happily, "-Senpai."

"You make it hard not to," he replied, before taking another calm sip at his coffee. "I'm afraid you'll just have to get used to it."

Haruhi smiled at him, cheeks slightly bulgy with the food. Once she'd swallowed, her lips spread contentedly. "I don't know if that's possible." She studied him for a minute. "You know," she paused, then shook her head. "Ah, never mind." She took a new bite.

He adjusted his ugly shirt, wondering what that was about. "I do hope you feel free enough to speak your mind by now."

She nodded, mouth full. "I know," she mumbled. When her mouth was clear again, she looked him over again, a secret smile on her lips.

His eyes held a smile of their own. So long as she was happy, he decided, he could be, too.

Soon, the butler returned with a second plate, allowing him to begin his cream spreading ritual over again.

The plate he'd given her was empty within a few minutes, and she had to content herself with the tea as he worked on his own. "Senpai, does your sister have children?"

Where did that come from? "Not yet, as far as I know. Though, she does have very lofty ambitions of having several children."

She thought about that for a moment, sipping her tea slowly. "Oh. Lofty?"

"Oh, it's nothing." Though, personally, he couldn't imagine having so many children running about. The very thought of it made him dizzy.

He wondered if it would be appropriate to ask Haruhi about future plans, in light of... events.

She shrugged it off, her fingers ghosting over her stomach. "She seems like a mother." Smiling again, she looked up to beam at him. "Anyway, she should visit sometime. I like her."

"Do you?" They did seem to get on quite well. And he couldn't help but feel Haruhi needed a friend or two outside of the club, for perspective's sake. "Perhaps she can convince Father to invite her over in the future."

She snorted. "I can't imagine her not being able to. I bet she could convince him to do anything she wanted."

"She can be quite persuasive, at times." But, Father could also be quite immovable. Not that he had anything against Fuyumi. He thought very highly of her husband's position, as well. They simply didn't get on well on a personal level.

But they'd have to visit some time, he was sure.

He finished off his last slice of bagel.

"She'd do well with a few girls, or a set of twins," Haruhi mused. "Your family could do with more girls."

Kyouya chuckled. "Father might see things differently." Though, if all girls could be like Haruhi... "But I agree."

Senpai would do well with a baby, too. She raised her cup to finish off the tea, smirking at the adorable vision of Senpai rocking a little baby girl to sleep. She'd bat her tiny little chocolate eyes-

Her cheeks warmed. There would be none of that. Even with what they'd been doing the night before. An alarm went off in her head. "Senpai! I need the pill." Unless he was trying to get her pregnant?

He looked up from the final remnants of his coffee. Ah, he'd almost forgotten about the dangers of such a thoughtless and ill-prepared adventure. "Of course. I'll have one of the maids go and get some for you."

She relaxed. "Thank you."

Kyouya called over one of the maids, muttering some quiet instructions for her. She hurried off. "She'll be back before we leave for the mall."

"Alright. I'm sorry. I don't mean to be a bother," she smiled sheepishly at him, slumping casually in her chair.

"It's no trouble." For him, anyways. It was the maid's job, after all. Sort of. "We'll be better prepared next time."

Her smiled widened, cheeks flushing deeply. "Alright. Next time." She ducked her head to pretend to sip her empty cup.

Oh, there would definitely be a next time. And very soon, Kyouya felt. The butler refilled his coffee, as the two of them waited for the maid's return.

The maid gave her the pill in a little cup, winking at her as soon as Senpai wasn't looking. She popped it in without acknowledging the embarrassing gesture, swallowing hard over it. "I'm ready if you are," she said quietly when she was done.

"Very well." He checked the time, though he had no idea when the two had planned to meet. He was somewhat eager to get on the road for the beach house... but of course, his friend's well-being came first. Perhaps he'd be able to pry some answers from him before the day was out.

They stood, Chaffing already waiting outside with the car. Haruhi followed Senpai out to the car, feeling content, her stomach comfortably full.

"Thank you for breakfast," She said, uncomfortably glad she'd given in and then eaten all of his intended breakfast.

"Of course," he replied. "As I said, I would prefer you had three proper meals a day." Although, he supposed it was a bit closer to lunchtime, with how late they'd slept in... Ah, well.

"Three," she repeated, not convinced she'd ever get into such an excessive routine. She let Chaffing hand her into the car gratefully. "If you say so."

Kyouya climbed in after her. "I do." He wasn't her master, true, but that didn't stop him from taking care of her. "The supermarket, please."

Chaffing looked somewhat perplexed, but never questioned Kyouya's orders.

Haruhi's phone buzzed. "Tamaki's there. He can't believe it's so compact, he says." She snorted. "What does he expect?"

"I'll have to take you on a proper shopping trip one day," he replied. If this supermarket was anything like the mall, they were in for an interesting experience.

She looked up in disbelief. "_Shopping_, Senpai? Only if you want to."

"One of these days," he replied. "Another chance to spoil you."

She beamed again, stringing her arm through his to cuddle against his shoulder. "Alright. Only if you want, though." She watched the town get less and less chic outside the window. They must be close.

One day, she would realize that it was about what _she_ wanted. They didn't have time, however, to have that particular discussion. The limo pulled up to the supermarket, looking stupidly out of place. He made sure to remove any traces of grin from his face before stepping out, and offered the lady a hand.

She looked around, wondering how familiar this market would be if she'd had a normal life. Dad's apartment was just around the corner, wasn't it? She accepted the hand out, resisting the urge to keep hold of it. If he took hers, fine, but she didn't want to purposefully make Tamaki-Senpai feel like a third wheel. Speaking of... "Where do you think he is?"

Kyouya looked around, a bit lost himself. He couldn't tell her where the checkout line was, much less where Tamaki was. "Perhaps you should text him," he replied, eyes still rolling about to take everything in.

Suddenly, she noticed the mass of blonde mixed in with the crowd. Forgetting her resolve, she grabbed Kyouya's hand, pulling him through the people. "Look, Senpai! Over here!"

Kyouya allowed her to pull him through the crowd. It really was cramped in here, and he was completely lost as to grocery store protocol. He spotted Tamaki through the crowd. It was almost a relief to see someone in the same boat as him.

Tamaki was pressed to the glass case of the lobster display, watching the animals, entranced. Haruhi snuck up behind him, motioning 'Shh' to Senpai, even though the store was full, and _loud._

Tamaki felt a tap on his shoulder, scaring him so much he yelped, spinning around. "Oh, Haruhi! Kyouya!" he laughed, slapping hand over heart. "Did you know they actually _kill_ lobsters here? It's horrible!"

"I believe they leave that job to the consumer," Kyouya corrected him, glancing at the helpless crustaceans skittering about. "How long have you been here?"

Tamaki glanced at his wrist, then laughed, holding up his empty arm. "I don't know. Isn't it amazing in here? Kyouya! Did you know that soup comes in cans?" He produced one out of nowhere.

Haruhi giggled behind her hand.

Kyouya squinted, examining the can. He'd _heard_ of the stuff before, but never expected to see it. A time saver, indeed. "Truly, we are in a different world." He only sounded half sarcastic.

Haruhi laughed outright. "I didn't know you two were so easy to please." Minus Senpai. She knew _he_ was easy to please. "What did you want to shop for, Tamaki-Senpai?"

Tamaki was clutching the can, as if she was about to take it. "Well, I've heard that at commoner's shopping centers, they sell these kinds of... popsicles. In tubes. Do you think we could find those? I've always wanted to enjoy the simple pleasure of cutting my dessert open with my mother's scissors, sitting out in the sun on a warm day, too poor to escape the heat through air conditioning."

You've always wanted to be poor? Kyouya rolled his eyes. He was clueless. He looked to Haruhi. "I don't suppose you understand the layout of this-" He searched for the right word, but nothing came. "-place, do you? We could be here for quite a while."

She rolled her eyes, slightly annoyed that these rich kids couldn't even just _look_ around for the freezer section. "Come on," she said, taking both of their hands. "Let's go,"

Tamaki couldn't believe what was happening. He let her lead, but couldn't tear his eyes from their clasped fingers.

Somehow, it was a bit embarrassing to be led around in public like that. But then, surely no one would recognize him as an Ootori in this hideous disguise, right?

She found the popsicles, rolling her eyes at Tamaki's sudden glee at the frozen juice. "Shall we checkout?" she asked, mostly to Senpai, as it appeared the blonde was taken with cataloging each of the flavors in his mind.

"Assuming we don't need any other assorted commoner snacks," he replied, watching Tamaki through the corner of his eye. Well, he seemed okay in person. But on the phone... He doubted he wanted to talk about it, whatever it was, in front of Haruhi.

She nodded, weaving herself in and out of the crowd to show the two clueless ones where the checkouts were.

Tamaki held up the bag for his friend to see. "Kyouya, have you ever tried these?"

Kyouya inspected the bag, though he doubted either way that he'd ever had whatever mysterious carbs his friend had found. "Pickle flavored potato chips?" Just saying the words sounded disgusting and foreign. "No."

"You need to try them!" He waved the bag around, "It says you can't just have one! They must be so good, you get addicted! Here, try one now!" He began shuffling his armload around so he could get to the top of the bag.

"I believe it's considered ill-mannered to open a product before purchase," Kyouya warned. He glanced at Haruhi. He pulled a few bills out of his pocket and handed them to her. "Haruhi. Why don't you go checkout for me?"

She took the money flippantly saying, "Okay." She'd been thinking maybe those two needed a chance to talk, anyway.

Tamaki had deflated. "Oh," he moaned, pulling out a wrapper. "So I shouldn't have eaten this, either?"

Kyouya sighed. "Let's go pay for it at the service desk. You big dope." He added the last part, oddly affectionate in his tone. When he thought Haruhi was sufficiently out of earshot, he drummed up the question. "Now, would you like to talk about what's going on?"

Tamaki frowned, holding up his items. "I'm just shopping, Kyouya. I don't know the commoner's protocol or anything..."

"You know what I'm talking about," Kyouya replied, finding a few more bills in his pockets. How much was this stuff, anyway? "You've been acting odd since the ball. Did something happen with Eclair?"

Tamaki jumped slightly. "Happen? Eclair? Ball? I have no idea what you mean. Kyouya, did you know soup can come in a can?"

"You're repeating yourself," Kyouya replied. "I can't help you if I don't know what's going on."

Tamaki gave him a tired smile. "Everything's fine, Kyouya. Or at least, it will be. Thanks for asking. I've just been... busy lately, and haven't been getting much sleep."

"I see." Kyouya didn't buy that. Tamaki hadn't been busy at all, he knew. "Well, do ensure that you take care of yourself." He supposed the matter was up to his secret police now.

Tamaki nodded, stepping up to the desk.

Haruhi slipped up behind Kyouya, touching his back for attention. Eyes sparkling, she grinned, "I'm done."

He smiled back at her. "Excellent. Have you counted your change?" He glanced at the lady at the desk, hoping the wrapper and the cash was self explanatory.

Tamaki had charmed the socks off of all nearby employees, while Haruhi held up the money. "Yes. It was perfect. I even predicted what it would be before he'd said." She beamed proudly.

"You've done a wonderful job," he praised, accepting the change. He still intended to give her an allowance one of these days. He glanced at Tamaki. Yup, almost normal again.

She glowed. "How's..." she gestured quietly, "...the King? Is he okay?"

Tamaki interrupted, skipping back to his friends. "Kyouya, look! They said not to worry about the candy!" He grinned at Haruhi gleefully, holding up the wrapper.

Well, that sounded just barely legal. "Is that so? Then I suppose we're done here."

Haruhi laughed, shaking her head at the idiocy of people intoxicated with Suoh charm. "I had fun, Tamaki." She reached out for a hug.

Tamaki blushed slightly, accepting the hug lightly. "Me too. Are you guys going home now?"

"That depends," Kyouya replied. "Where were you planning on going after this?"

Tamaki froze a bit. "Um, I have plans. It was good of you to come too, Kyouya."

"I see. Well, I would hate to keep you," he replied. He gave him a friendly nod. "Will I see you at school Monday?"

Tamaki nodded quickly, waving goodbye. He seemed to scurry out much more quickly than he needed to.

Haruhi pursed her lips. "Maybe he's just tired."

"That's what he says," Kyouya replied at length. No, that couldn't have been it.

However, the issue was out of his hands until his sources could get back to him. For now, he would have to be patient. "Ready to leave?"

She grinned, the beach sounding extremely relaxing. "Of course. Let's get out of here." She took his arm, following him around the crowds to the door.

He brought her back to the car. Chaffing had already been briefed on the plans for the weekend and had taken the liberty of packing their trunks into the car before they'd left, so there would be no stops back home. Just a straight shot from here to Okinawa.

She sat down comfortably next to him, hoping a glance from the side really was as effective as Tamaki claimed. "So, you like this shirt, huh?"

Indeed, even on Kyouya, the sideways glance could be quite effective coming from her. "I do." He reached over to rub the soft, delicate fabric of the hem between his fingers.

"Me too," she agreed, smoothing her shorts. "Do you like my shorts, too?"

His hand moved downward, running over her leg and stopping at her knee. "They're very fetching on you," he replied.

"Good," she decided, nodding resolutely. She took the hand, returning it to the frills along her thigh. "Aren't these soft? I think they're soft."

"Very soft," Kyouya replied. "I don't know how you keep your hands off of them." His thumb slid playfully under her shirt, the rest of his fingers still innocently brushing the frills.

She shivered, reaching over to rub the hem of his ridiculous Hawaiian shirt. "I can completely understand why you don't wear this shirt more often; no one would be able to leave you alone." Her pointer finger ghosted over his waistband. "My goodness."

He let out an ugly sort of chuckle. "Oh, I know. I simply can't wait to have it off."

Haruhi snorted softly. "Any day, any time." She retracted her fingers, taking his hand and twining the two.

"Perhaps when we get to the beach house, you could help me pick something a little less ostentatious." He leaned in close for a gentle kiss.

She tilted her chin up to smile into the kiss. She leaned up for one more. "As long as I get to choose what you have on. Or off." She closed her eyes, leaning down to lay on his shoulder.

"I think those are acceptable terms," he replied, letting his forehead touch hers just briefly.

Sighing, she pulled her legs up to the seat to recline against him. "Hey, you packed swimsuits, right?"

"Of course," he replied. "You did say you were interested in practicing your swimming. It's quite different in the ocean, with the force of the waves."

All she had (that she knew of) was the bikini. "Will my suit be alright in the ocean?" It was pretty skimpy...

He failed to stop the dirty grin that crept across his face. It was gone shortly after it came. "I think it'll be just fine for our purposes."

She could hear it. She shook her head, looking back up at him. "Our _swimming_ purposes?" She reached up to trace his nose, bopping the tip lightly.

"Well, I fail to see why we can't have a bit of fun with it," he replied, favoring her with a bop on her own nose. "I'm told the beach is very romantic."

She smiled tenderly, moving her hand to cup his jaw fleetingly. "Hey, Senpai? Can we try something when we get there?"

His eyes flashed with devious curiosity. He tried to pry his mind out of that dirty place. "Anything you want to," he replied.

"It's just that..." She was heating slowly with embarrassment. "I've always wanted to give you... you know, a real massage. And maybe, after swimming and stuff... that might feel nice? You know, if you want." She shifted, feeling slightly out of place asking something like this.

"That sounds lovely," he replied with a grin. "I hope you'll allow me to return the favor."

She relaxed against him. "Sounds heavenl- I mean, okay. Only if you want to."

He smirked. This was going to be a good weekend.

The sun was beginning its daily descent into the horizon. They still had a few good hours of sunlight ahead of them, but the light was beginning to dim. It gave the beach a nice little glow that Kyouya thought suited the mood just fine.

She yawned, opening her eyes to the beautiful sight of the beach. "We're here," she said through the yawn. She turned sleep-filled eyes to Senpai. "Shall we go change?"

"Let's," he replied, taking one last glance at his watch. To be honest, he was quite looking forward to that massage after her lessons... But he could be patient. He waved Chaffing off for the weekend. The man deserved a day off.

He led her to the beach house.

She followed him, a bit unsteady on her feet from the interrupted nap. "It's beautiful here. Does anyone else use this beach?"

"Not unless the family rents it to them," he replied. "And I've checked the schedule. It will be just the two of us." Assuming they didn't wind up with more thugs, like last time.

She grinned, entering the house reverently, as if one wrong step would ruin the whole weekend. "Alright." She took her bag. "I'll be right back."

"Take your time." He hoped she wouldn't. As he waited, he rummaged through his own bag for his swimsuit. He wasn't lying when he said he couldn't wait to get out of this shirt.

She entered an adjoining room, calling over her shoulder, "Don't take that shirt off yet, okay?" She wiggled out of her shorts, trading one set of frills for another.

He sighed. "As you wish," he replied. He changed into his swim trunks, but left the tacky shirt in place. For some reason.

She held the top in place, holding the strings with her fingers. "Senpai, can you help me with this?" she asked, peeking around the corner. Bows were hard to tie.

"Ah. Of course." One of these days, he would get her a more convenient swimsuit. One day. For now, he stepped around the corner, averting his eyes out of habit. Until he remembered that that was sort of a silly thing to do.

He tied it in a tight, neat bow. "There you are."

She turned, grinning shyly. "You promised I got to choose what you had on. And I don't think this shirt matches." She ran her fingers along his collar, hands playing down the front of the garment. "We better get this off you, don't you think?"

"I think I could part with it for a time," he replied, his body shivering under the heat of her touch.

She reach for the top button, fingering it for a moment while she leaned up for a kiss. "Senpai, do you love me?"

"More than you know," he replied, returning the kiss. He caressed her hips.

She moved them a bit, back and forth, sending him a smile and nosing his head up to kiss his neck at the top, and on his Adam's apple. "How long will you love me?"

"I'm not sure it's possible to stop," he replied, tilting his head back to allow her better access. His hands, still on her hips, began to sweat, his fingers instinctively digging into her.

She smiled, kissing in between his collarbone and, remembering a trick he himself had used before, darted her tongue out to explore it gently. Finally she undid his first button, replacing it with a kiss there, working her way down the row slowly.

He deliberately pried his hands away from her hips as she reached the end of the row of buttons. Oh, they wouldn't get anything done at this rate. "Better?" he asked when she'd finished removing the hideous thing.

She'd circled around him to tug it off his arms. Leaning up to kiss the base of his neck, she smiled resolutely. "Yes. Much better." She twined her arms around to clasp around his waist. "Does that feel better for you?"

"Very much so." He let his hands drape softly over hers as she worked. Not to stop her, just to feel her skin. It was pleasantly soft.

She pecked at his back a few more times, the memories of wishing to know what his skin would feel like under her lips a very happily distant memory. "Well, I suppose we should get out there before the light's gone, eh?"

"Ah, yes, of course," he replied, shrugged over the residual fireworks she'd left crackling across his skin. "Swimming practice."

She stepped away from him, only partially to get to see everything she was just kissing. (She was just kissing Kyouya Ootori? Did she _realize_ how many other girls would kill to get in that position?) "Swimming is different in the ocean," she stated, an open-for-debate comment.

"It is. There's a little more nuance to it." He had a hard time thinking of swimming just now, but he took pride in his very mentally disciplined mind. "I'm sure you'll get the hang of it fast."

"If you're teaching me, I'm sure I'll catch on quickly." She took his hand, swinging their arms like kids as they exited the house. "After all, I _am _the natural type, eh?"

"And with good reason," he replied. "Haruhi, you have the potential to do anything."

She grinned, slightly embarrassed from his overly-kind words. "Well, I definitely do when I'm with you," she responded, leaving her actual opinion of herself out of the discussion. They entered the sand, Haruhi realized, delightedly. "Hey, Senpai," she said throwing him back a wild, lovely, look.

She looked so beautiful, here in the fading sunlight, amongst the warm sound, accented with the sound and smell of the ocean. "Yes?" he asked, unable to stop the serene smile from appearing on his face.

Letting go of his hand, she began running, "Race you!" she called over her shoulder, taking off for the shore.

Ah, throw a man off his guard, will you? She was growing sneakier and sneakier all the time. He was very proud. He ran after her, his competitive streak welling up inside.

She peeked behind her, not even close to the goal on her shorter legs, to see Senpai's lithe form catching up to her easily. She screamed a bit, trying to push herself farther ahead, but the sand kept slowing her down.

While Kyouya was far from experience at running on sand, he did have the benefit of several vacations behind him. He managed to pass her, but couldn't bare to move much further beyond that. It would be a close race, though.

She knew when she was licked. Although...

"Fine!" She yelled, lips dancing, "But I bet you can't get _me_!" She veered off to the side, zig-zagging to the shore, throwing laughing looks over her shoulders.

"Changing the rules, are you?" He followed after her, trying to keep his route straight, but find her zig-zagging pattern to make that very difficult. "You're going to tire yourself before we get to the water!"

The only response she gave was a high shriek when she looked back to see how close he was. With her misguided attention, her foot stuck for a second too long, toppling her (un)gracefully into the sand.

Some predatory instinct took hold of him, and he seized the moment. He pounced, landing atop her with a bit more grace than her fall might have carried. He grinned down at her before nuzzling at her nose.

She squeaked in surprise, reacting quickly to pull his face down to hers. "Aw, I guess I lose," she said, pushing up into his mouth. She sucked on his lip gently before parting. "Do you have to punish the loser now?"

"Oh, I think we have plenty of time for that later," he replied, giving her lip a gentle nip. "For now, let's get some practice in, shall we?"

She nibbled her own lip for a second, coyly smiling at him, trying to decipher those sharp, deep, eyes. "Make me."

He rose his eyebrows playfully. "I beg your pardon?" He sat up, legs still straddling her. "I'll have my way yet, Haruhi, make no mistake."

A sharp volt of electricity sizzled down her spine, landing in her core to simmer. She leaned up, resting on her elbows. "I wouldn't dare." She pulled one leg up to bend at the knee, purposefully rubbing against him slightly. "You're much too convincing."

He shuddered. Suddenly, he wasn't so sure he wanted to go swimming anymore...

Ah, but here on the sand? Highly unsanitary. He rolled off of her, lying in the sand beside her to catch his breath for a moment.

She sat up, adjusting her bra top a bit before turning shining eyes to him. "I suppose we should, you know, go swimming. We'll never get sore enough for massages if we don't."

Ah, that was very true. He was certain that the wait would only make the victory sweeter. He knew this from experience. "Yes. good idea." He stood, brushing a bit of sand from his knees. "Let's go."

She hopped up, clasping her hands behind her back to casually stroll to the shore. The pool had been one thing... She stopped short of the water, staring out at it. "Well, looks like it's too rough today. I guess we should go back." She smiled nervously at him.

"It's not that bad." He reached over to take her hand. "Come on. I'll hold your hand."

She sighed, hating herself for letting it get to her... while she was still dry. "Alright." Her hand was beginning to sweat, making it a bit embarrassing to grasp his. "Uhh... how, I mean, uh, what's first?"

"Let's just walk in slowly," he replied. He took a few tentative steps into the surf, the tide tugging at his bare feet and wet sand squishing between his toes.

Following him tentatively, the water actually felt a bit relaxing with the evening warmth. "Uh, this is probably far enough, huh?" She stood pigeon-toed in the shallow waves, holding his hand stiffly.

"Does the thought really bother you so much?" This had been her idea, after all, hadn't it? "I've still got you, you know."

She shifted closer to him. "You've got me. I know." Her other arm spread to steady herself. "I just haven't had... good ocean experiences." Although he'd been there to catch her then, too. So she really shouldn't worry. She took a few brave steps.

"It won't happen again," he said, voice somewhat stern. "I promise."

She grinned, concentrating on how the water was _relaxing_. Taking a deep breath, she lowered her arm to stand normally. "I believe you."

"Good." He grinned at her, leading her deeper into the water. He stopped when the water rose to their waists. "Still doing alright?"

Okay, so it was kind of nice when you weren't hurtling toward it unexpectedly. "Yeah, it's nice, actually." She pulled herself closer to him, happy for something to cling to, no matter how much less scary this was than she'd thought.

"It's not terribly different from the swimming pool," he reminded her. "Just salt and fish. Think you're ready to try?"

A short flash of terror shot through her expression, quickly conquering it and nodding. "Remind me what to do?"

"Propel yourself with your legs." He kicked off of the loose sand, demonstrating while keeping a firm grasp on her hand. "Stabilize with your arms."

She followed his lead, catching on after a try. The waves were more difficult to navigate than the pool, but it was basically the same principle. "I've got it, I think," she grinned shakily at him.

"Are you sure?" he asked, not quite ready to let go just yet.

Nodding, she began propelling her arms madly, letting go of him. "Hey!" she called, "I'm swimming! Senpai, I'm swimming in the ocean!" She turned delighted features to him, treading the water more and more easily.

"So you are," he said with a grin. "Are you enjoying it?"

She laughed, finally able to take in the scenery. The setting sun, the glowing waves, Senpai's gorgeous smile glowing _just for her_; what wasn't there to enjoy? "You have created utopia, Sir," she smiled, leaning back to let her hair tips dip in the water.

"Loath as I am to admit it, I couldn't have done it alone," he said, his voice far away as he gazed at her.

She smiled, paddling her arms awkwardly around to float herself closer to him. "I love you," she said, giggling a bit. She wrapped her arms slyly around his neck, attaching her legs around his waist. "I just want the world to know," she laughed, letting her head loll back to the sky. "I love Kyouya Ootori!"

He may have colored just slightly. He still wasn't too sure about public affection, but, well, it did feel kind of nice. Just awkward. He was sure he would get used to it. He held one arm around her, keeping himself steady with the other. "I love you too, Haruhi," he said, quietly in comparison.

She turned to him, hands reaching up to stroke his hair. "Sorry," she blushed, "I know loud girls are gross..." She leaned down to place a kiss on his nose. "You just make me happy."

"You're fine," he replied. "More than fine." He closed his eyes as he pulled her closer, kicking back to rest on the softly rolling waves.

She squealed a bit in surprise. The water washed over her anew, making the embrace a bit more... floaty. "I like swimming with you."

"You're an excellent partner," he replied. She really was a natural.

He held onto her, quietly floating, watching the sun fall out on the horizon.

She stayed quiet, holding onto him contentedly. The sun was quickly falling away, making it feel more and more risque to be out in the dark water like this. She sighed, leaning into his ear. "Hey," she whispered, "I need to touch you. Let's go inside."

He took the chance to nuzzle at the side of her face. "Fine by me." He lifted her, weightless in the water, and carried her back to shore, just like that first time. Only now, she was safe, and they were in love.

Clinging to him happily, she buried her face into his neck, kissing it a few times. "I have some food from the market," she offered, dancing her fingers along his back.

Intrigued, his eyebrow rose. "How did you manage to sneak that by me?" he wondered aloud. She was surprisingly good at this, lately.

She smiled knowingly. "I simply must be sneakier than you thought. You said you packed everything we'd need, right?"

"I did," he replied as he carried her across the sand, which still radiated the warmth it trapped during the day. "Sadly, I can't have you running about naked all weekend."

She laughed out loud. "Not like _that's_ never happened before. Are you still in charge of my wardrobe tonight?"

"I think it's only fair," he replied. He gave her shoulder a gentle rub before setting her down on the porch. "I did miss when you changed."

She rolled her eyes. "Well, _Ootori-Sama_, I suppose we should go in." She flipped her fringe away, leaving the porch with a bit of flair.

He kind of liked the sound of that. He followed her, still grinning widely, all the way to their bedroom. "How shall we begin?"

She placed her hands on her hips, raising a brow. "Well, it is time for your massage; but first you have to decide on my clothes. I'll change before we start, if you wish."

"It may be wise to wash all of the salt off, first," he agreed. He picked through her suitcase, choosing a few carefully selected garments. "Of course, it would save time if we both showered at once..."

She studied him, grinning. "If that's what you wish. I may need help with my tie, though." She adjusted the strings. "If you don't mind."

"Gladly," he replied, motioning for her to turn around. His fingers worked at the string, his work slowed by the water they had absorbed. Even so, it didn't take long to get it off.

She put her hands up to the front of the top. "Thank you for untying it, _Ootori-Sama_." She looked over her shoulders, smirking slightly. "But it seems to be stuck from coming off."

"I'm sure I can fix that," he replied, reaching around front to slide it down the length of her body.

She shivered, arms across her chest still. "Thank you, Kyouya," she said, a grin on her wet lips, "Are you ready to shower?"

"Definitely," he replied. He let his hand trail down her arm, before slipping into hers. He took her to the bathroom, and couldn't help remembering her first night here. She'd wandered in here by mistake, and the two of them had almost...

Ugh. The toilet. Her memories of that particular piece of furniture most unpleasant. She ignored it, tugging Senpai into the dramatic shower; after all, the clothes they still wore _were_ meant for water. "Stand aside," she murmured, leaning over to turn on the water. She felt it begin to pelt down on her back, putting her hands invitingly on her hips, as if to encourage further disrobing.

He tilted his head down, momentarily allowing the water to running over him, before getting back to business. He pulled her into an embrace, another excuse to run his hands over her. Down her body they slid, catching at her remaining clothing, pulled the swim bottom down.

Kicking it away, she reached up for a kiss on the lips, feeling as there could be no more appealing human being on the whole planet at this point. She ran her fingertips down his firm abdomen, hooking index fingers on the waistband. "Hey, Senpai," she said, studying his eyes for a second, "Let me know what you think of this, okay?" From there, she worked her way down his front, kissing around to the side when she reached the shorts. With fingers on one side, and teeth gripping the other, she tugged the suit off of him, using his hips as leverage to come back up to his mouth.

A shiver of delight ran through him. "I must say, you're very good at this." He planted a passionate kiss on that lovely mouth of hers.

She grinned, stringing her arms around his neck. "I might say the same for you, Sir." She moved closer to him, letting her chest brush his teasingly.

The touch of her skin was still a shocking treat for him. He pressed against her, all but grinding her into the tiled wall behind her. He brought his lips to hers once more, no longer conscious of what his hands might be doing to her.

She cried out softly, moaning into his mouth with each new place he found to touch. She ran her hands along his sides, the cold tile on her back completely foreign compared to the radiating heat from his body.

He let out a few soft, contented noises, unable to pull his lips from hers. His nails buried themselves into her thighs as the man gave into his burning desire to have her, right now.

Always sudden with this one, wasn't it? Not that she was complaining. The odd position they were in made her muscles clench, slowing them down. She grabbed at his hair, digging her fingernails into a slow, hard, descent down his back.

The pain was oddly inviting. Kyouya would have never taken himself for a masochist. But, he didn't have time to psychoanalyze himself right now. He needed to be inside her again. He couldn't have enough of her since last night.

The sand still stuck to random patches of skin was scratchy when they rubbed against each other, their intimate dance becoming more and more intense as he worked. She steadied herself, wrapping her legs around his waist, hands tangled in his wet hair for balance.

He wrapped his hands around her, holding her as close to his body as he could. He allowed himself to slide to the floor, a much easier position for his purposes.

Completely pinned to the floor now, the heaviness of Senpai's body felt somehow... comfortable. She tugged her mouth from his, just enough to moan his name, before letting her mouth get sucked back into Kyouya's lip ministrations. He was still new at this; she didn't expect him to last much longer.

He did finish regrettably fast. Quick though it may have been, it was still wonderful to him. He rolled over, allowing the water to stream over him as he caught his breath.

As she tried to regain her own, she mused how she still couldn't believe how... enjoyable he made things. When her post-coital bliss had begun to fade slightly, she rolled over, letting her chest drape over him. She smiled tiredly, reaching to touch his firm, manly jaw. "Hey," she greeted. "Feeling okay?"

"More than that," he replied with a grin. As much as he enjoyed the view from where he was, he pulled himself into a more vertical position. "Ready for a massage, I think." She had quite tired him out for the day.

"As you wish," she said, nearly mouthing the words before leaning down to brush his chest with a kiss. "As the trend for tonight continues, you are still in charge of my clothing choices."

He chuckled, though whether it was her comment, or simply sensitive skin was unclear. "We'll have to get up before any clothing choices can be made." He didn't know about her, but he was quite content to lie here at the bottom of the shower for the night.

The still-constant water _did _feel pretty good. She sighed, contentedly. "Getting up, eh? Maybe not, then." She scooted up a bit, accidentally causing her breasts to move along his side squishily. His chest was covered in a thin layer of water, but that didn't stop her from moving in to kiss his nipple, even going so far to play with it in her mouth, wondering if his were as sensitive as her own.

He jittered under her, holding back another chuckle. It was simply the unexpected nature of the incident. Kyouya Ootori was not, by any means, ticklish. At all.

"I suppose we can't-" His sentence was cut by another chuckle. "-We can't lie here all night, can we?"

She looked up at him, still adoring his chest thoroughly. She stopped briefly to dare: "You'll have to make me move."

He seized her upper arms. "You know I will," he said with a grin. He pushed her, very lightly, away from his chest, squirming a bit underneath her.

She wiggled, trying to free herself of his grasp, finally adopting her puppy pout. "Ootori-Sama," she cooed, "Please just ravish me here all night." Her eyes flashed in half-jest, mouth slightly too far upturned to be a convincing pout.

"You know just where to strike, don't you?" Hands still braced against her arms, he rolled her over, placing himself atop her. "I can never refuse the request of a lady." He kissed teasingly at her clavicle, moving down, shadowing her earlier motions.

She shuddered deliciously, trying not to break down, as she knew she could potentially get _really_ loud. "Ahh, Ootori-Sama!" she breathed, craning her head up to try and watch. Seeing him do anything of the sort was incredible to witness, joking or not; she had never thought... "So good," she muttered, fisting her palms tightly, trying to not touch him like she wanted to. This was his time.

He wouldn't have that. His tongue slid out of his mouth, just lightly ghosting over her nipple, before disappearing once more. She cried out in a half-moan, eyes wild as if he'd sent a spark of electricity through her.

She obviously hadn't had enough yet, he thought. He placed a hand on her stomach. His fingers danced across her skin, down, and down, between her legs.

Before she knew it, her fingers were in his hair, holding onto his head possessively. She writhed behind the light caresses, trying, as she'd been taught, to keep it all in, though she really wanted to cry his name over and over as he teased her. "Senpai," she whispered, fingers reaching for new bunches of hair. She took a deep breath to steady herself.

"That's not what you call me now," he whispered, as his fingers slid inside.

Her breathing sped up. She made a unintelligible noise, giving in a little more to whisper, "Kyouya." Her fingers dug at his scalp desperately.

"Thank you," he replied tersely, gaze down at her face as he continued to invade her in the most pleasant of ways. She made such a wonderful face when he hit just the right spot...

She was panting now, hips beginning to move with his hand, wanting him to hit that one little spot _every_ time. "Ahh, Kyouya!" she cried, heat-of-the-moment tears springing to her eyes uninvited. "Please...!"

"'Please' what?" he asked, pulling away from her teasingly. "Stop?"

Her hands scrambled to get into the wet mass of hair again. She felt completely empty with him gone. Eyes wide, she stared at him for a split second, wanting to scream the exact opposite. This was _Kyouya_, after all, so she wiped away her inhibitions, turning bright red as she spat out, "No!"

"I thought not." He went at her again, holding nothing back. He wanted her to feel as he felt when she made love to him. He wanted her to feel the ecstasy full on, the glowing exhaustion that came with utter satisfaction.

Her head tossed back, amazed anything could _feel_ like this, she began struggling. Was she allowed to... finish? His hand was _right_ there, it would get on him. "Ahh, ahh, Kyouya...! I need to...!" She tried to vocalize it, but his long, strong, fingers were too _good_ at this. "Can I please-?"

"Do it," he replied, his voice almost harsh, almost demanding.

Her knuckles white in his hair, she came, boldly finishing with his hand still inside her. She tried to call for him, but the name came out garbled with all her other feelings, just like her thoughts at that moment. When she'd ridden it out, her head collapsed down to rest on the bathtub floor.

He pulled away again, satisfied that they were both happy. He still crouched over her, shielding her body from the streaming water. He flexed his fingers against the tiled floor, before rolling over again to lay beside her. He felt a tired, fulfilled feeling wash over him.

It took her a bit longer to catch her breath this time; when she had, she croaked, "You are quite good at that-" her voice cracked back into normality, "-Sir. I hope you haven't been practicing."

He snickered. "No, I'm just a very fast learner." It helped that her emotions were written all over her contorted face.

She snorted. "I would have to agree." She swallowed, heaving a deep breath. "You don't have to please me though, you know." She tilted her head slightly, his features in the corner of her eye. "You don't owe me one thing; I'm just happy to be here, with you."

"Oh? But what if I want to?" He smirked at her, before forcing himself to sit up with a laborious grunt. "Well, we shouldn't stay in here to much longer." His hands were ridiculously pruny already, from the swim.

She reached out for his arm to lever herself up. Snickering, she added, "Though I think we may have ended up just as unclean as we started."

He let out a darkish chuckle. "Perhaps. But, I have no complaints." He reached out, finally shutting off the water.

It was... very quiet without the stream. "Ah, neither do I." She elbowed up, standing to stretch above her head, back to her wet partner. "Hey, you still haven't revealed my next costume change for the night. Care to elaborate?"

"Now, why would I do that when I could just show you?" He stood to join her. He'd left the outfit neatly folded on the counter for her. But first, he offered a towel.

She accepted it, peering curiously at the little pile of clothing. What kind of man _was_ Kyouya? Hikaru had claimed he was a 'legs man,' though he was the Dark Lord, she'd always wondered if maybe, you know, he was into bondage... S&M... She wrapped herself in the towel, holding it there to look at him expectantly. "Whenever you're ready."

He'd toweled himself off rather quickly. He unfolded the clothes for her to look at them. Rather simple, really. A skirt, shorter than she'd worn since meeting him, with a pair of knee highs that had been ordered for an abandoned host club cosplay, matching Mary Jane slippers, complete with one of his simple work-shirts.

She grinned knowingly. He liked the school-girl look, eh? She could live with that. "Alright," she agreed. "Go lay down on the bed, if you would. I'll join you in a moment."

"Very well." He wrapped a towel around his waist, leaving the room. It was exciting, letting his anticipation bubble beneath his skin.

She dropped the towel, donning the ensemble quickly, leaving the work-shirt unbuttoned except the most necessary buttons. She smirked as she slid on the skirt, realizing that she hadn't been sent any underwear. Turning to see all around herself in the mirror, she couldn't imagine _much_ staying covered for too long.

Dressed, she called out, "Are you ready?"

"I'm getting quite impatient, in fact," he replied, light-heartedly. He sprawled on the bed, having donned his satin pajamas while he waited. "Have you finished?"

Her arms were swimming in his sleeves, but she didn't try to adjust them too much. She stepped out, keeping her expression as open and innocent as possible. This _was_ his fantasy, after all. Didn't want to ruin it already. "Ootori-Sama? Are you ready for your massage?"

He looked her over with an approving smile. "It suits you very well," he sighed. "Go ahead."

She went to crawl up on the bed, which felt like it was even higher than his bed at home. Although that could have been because of how hard it was not to flash herself to the world in that skirt as she did. Ah, well.

Straddling his mid-section, she rubbed her hands together, ready to begin with his neck and shoulders. "Let me know if this starts to hurt, alright, Ootori-Sama?" she flirted coyly, dipping fingers into his tight neck, pressing her thumbs into a knot already.

He wasn't sure he would mind that so much. But he didn't get into that. "Of course," he replied, already feeling half asleep from the day's rather strenuous activities. Of course, he'd promised to give her a massage, as well. Had to stay awake.

She let her hands roam slowly down his back, rendering more and more boneless as she moved from section to section. When she'd exhausted all the places she could reach from that position, she scooted down, sitting on his thighs to work on his lower back. She smirked for a moment before indulging even in twirling her fingers around the outline of his firm, completely begging to be grabbed, rear. "How is this feeling?"

He squirmed, surprised and a little shocked. She was getting quite bold lately, wasn't she? "You're doing wonderfully," he replied, suddenly much more awake and alert.

She grinned, moving down again to work down his legs. She loved just _feeling_ them; no matter how cliche it sounded, he just felt like a man to her, no matter where she touched. Muscles and firm and stubble and I-could-lift-you-up-like-a-feather. It was electrifying.

When she got to his feet, she sat down on the bed, lifting them one at a time into her lap, spending extra time from the ankles down. Senpai was _always_ busy, so she figured his feet must ache a lot.

He'd never realized how badly he needed this. Several little aches and pains he'd just come to accept as part of life were melting away under the influence of her highly trained hands.

He let out a soft, contented sigh as he dozed off.

She looked up to the sound, grinning and shaking her head. She'd really tired him out, hadn't she? And she hadn't even been done. She climbed off the bed, moving to his arm, running her hands down it a few times before shaking his fingers out one by one. She went around to repeat for the other.

He shifted in his half-sleep, titled his head toward her and peering through slitted eyelids at her lovely face. "Thank you," he mumbled.

She cocked her head to smile at him, smoothing his hair tenderly. "It was my pleasure." She worked up back into the bed, covering them both with some of the blankets, and curled up next to him.

"Good night, Kyouya." She pulled his arm around her waist, stroking his hand tenderly.

"Good night," he mumbled through a yawn. He distantly realized that he'd fallen asleep on her. And that was incredibly rude. He reminded himself to make it up to her in the morning

She fell asleep quickly, the day taking a toll on her. The balcony doors opened a crack, she dreamed of oceans and the beach all night. And Kyouya. She dreamt a lot of him, too.

* * *

><p>AN: OTL

To my credit, I did finished two cosplays, attend my favorite convention of the year, hold down a job, and have some extensive photoshoots since I updated last.

/shot

Lol Sorry guys. But the con's over, and I've got more time now. Don't forget to beat me up in the reviews so I'll edit faster!

HUGS xoxox


	29. Sand?

He'd fallen asleep so very early last night. It brought a smile to his groggy face when he remembered why that was. The extra sleep allowed him to wake up early, just as the sun was beginning to turn blue after sunrise. Unusual for him, he opened the curtains that morning. Everything seemed so much lovelier today. Especially Haruhi.

The sun tickled her skin, softly shaking her from her deep dreams. She moaned, pulling the sheet up to her nose. It was still night time, right? It had to be, she wasn't _nearly _ready to get up yet.

He glanced back at her. It occurred to him that she may not be ready to wake up just yet... but he wasn't sure if he could wait for her. He sat at the edge of the bed, taking Haruhi's hand and running his thumb along the lines of her palm. "Haruhi. Are you up yet?"

Drowsily slitting her eyes open, she groaned again. No matter how gorgeous her wake up call was. "Sen... pai..?" she yawned, closing her fingers around his thumb. "Is it time to get up?"

"If you're ready," he replied. "It's a fine morning, I'd hate for you to miss it."

She sighed deeply, turning onto her back to flex her feet and arch her back into a stretch. "And what-" she yawned again, reclining back against the pillows, "Would I miss?"

She was quite skeptical so early in the morning. "Nothing in particular. But the beach is lovely in the early morning."

She smiled, eyes closed again. "But the bed is so nice."

"Well, if you insist." He stretched out across the bed, resting a hand on her thigh as he gazed out the window. His mind wasn't prone to wandering, but today... it seemed like just the day to let it. He thought about Haruhi, and about their future, whatever it could be.

Haruhi sighed, rolling to her side so she could cuddle against his. "I do," she murmured against his pajamas. "You owe me a massage, Kyouya Ootori," she remembered suddenly. She ran her hand up to rest on his chest.

"Oh, don't believe I was trying to cheat you out of it," he replied. "You were just so efficient last night, I couldn't help myself."

She snuffed lightly, crossing her leg over his, slightly awed that she couldn't even reach his feet. "I do aim to please-"

"And you do." He planted a kiss on her neck. "Would you like me to start before, or after breakfast?"

Her skin warmed pleasantly at his lips. Before. Before. Breakfast was stupid. "Oh, whatever you want," she responded flippantly. "It's up to you."

He wasn't sure if he wanted to wait that long. "We'll have to get this off first." He reached over to undo the few buttons she bothered to do last night.

She grinned lazily, laying back down on her back to give him the best access. "It does seem in the way," she commented, unsure of what else to say, his fingers working efficiently.

He slid her shirt off of her, made easy by the fact that it was far too large on her tiny frame. Scooting to the edge of the bed, he made to slowly remove her long socks. He kissed both of her knees as he did.

"Roll over, if you would."

Her toes wiggled, the sensation of his stubbly jaw on her knees a bit ticklish. She obliged, settling down in the nest of blankets. "Wait," she said, pulling one of the pillows over to prop up her hips. "Okay. Now it'll be easier."

"Ready?" he asked. He didn't wait for an answer before laying his hands on her back. Her skin was warm, and soft despite the long shower yesterday. He recalled all of the charts he memorized about pressure points and nerves and such. He had the technical knowledge, he just wasn't sure if he could apply it.

He worked his fingertips deep into her flesh.

"How could I refuse-" she mumbled, his fingers digging into her like magic, "-an expert?" She moaned a contented sound, her muscles tight after their... playing last night.

"I would hardly claim to be an expert," he replied, spreading his nimble fingers to reach even more surface area. He worked down, from the base of her skull to the tip of her spine.

She tried to relax, let him work, but he was so _good _at this; she kept arching up into him, vaguely remembering she still had a skirt on. Ah, well. "Kyouya," she moaned quietly. He might even be better than she was.

He grinned, trying to remain silent as he worked at her. Part of him got such a rush every time she said his name like that. He dug in deeper, trying to elicit just one more moan.

Her fingers buried themselves in the sheets, holding on for balance. "More?" she asked, wanting his hands to go everywhere. The areas he'd already worked with felt _amazing_, and her other muscles were calling out for the same treatment.

"Of course," he replied, his voice tinged with a deep satisfaction. He continued, kneeling between her feet to work out her legs, before moving back upwards to take care of her arms.

She sighed, amazed someone could take such tender care of her body. She wasn't filthy (anymore), but she certainly was underweight, and under-exercised, and it was easy to remember anything but that some days. "You've made me almost boneless, Sir," she murmured. She was kind of glad he'd skipped her rear, though. The brand was a bit... embarrassing. "I can see how you fell asleep..." she yawned.

"You're far better at this than I am, I assure you," he admitted. Still, she seemed to be enjoying it well enough. He kissed between her shoulders once he'd finished. "But I've learned a few tricks from you."

She smiled, reaching for his chin. "All good, I hope." She turned over lazily, forgetting her clothing situation. "By the way, do we need to add kissing to my list?" She tugged at him, wanting one right now. "I am new at that one."

He chuckled. "I haven't much experience in that area, myself," he said. "I suppose we'll have to learn together, hm?"

She wiggled a bit, smiling. "You're already good." She reached to touch his shoulders. "Senpai, do you like this skirt?" she asked, abruptly changing the subject. She ran her hands along his arms. "I do."

"I'm glad," he replied. "I admit, there is a certain allure to it." Which was why he commissioned it for her cosplay all those weeks ago. He was kind of glad he was the only one who got to see her in it. "You should wear it more often."

She smiled knowingly. "Only for you, though." She kicked up one leg to bend at the knee, raising her eyebrow coyly at him. "Actually, Senpai, I think I may have bruised myself yesterday. Will you kiss it and make it better?"

He rose his eyebrows right back at her. "A bruise? That sounds serious. Where is it?"

She pointed under the skirt, the tippy-top of her thigh. "Serious," she mimicked.

He ran his hand up her leg slowly, pulled her skirt up to peer at the 'wound.' "It doesn't look so bad." He placed a very gentle kiss on it, anyways. "I can fix that."

She watched, transfixed, fingers ghosting over his hair. "I know. You can fix anything," she mused seriously. "I don't know if one kiss is enough."

"Oh, is that so?" he asked, moving to kiss her inner thigh this time. "What are you suggesting?"

She smiled again, looking at him. "I don't know; you just have very healing lips."

He tugged at the skirt briefly- No, no, to much candy will rot your soul. Three times in two days seemed just a little excessive... maybe. "Are there any other bruises I should know about?"

She pointed at her mouth. "Here." A coy grin danced over her lips.

"How could I have missed that?" he asked, grinning back at her, before crawling over her body to plant another kiss on her lips.

She kissed him again, a little peck on the lips, before sitting up to just _hug_ him. She sighed into his chest, his muscles feeling completely satisfying and warm against her. "We'll go to the beach today?"

"I think so," he replied. No point in coming all the way out here, if not to take advantage of the venue. "But we're in no hurry."

She rubbed his back softly, pulling away. "Either way, I suppose I should get dressed." His lips were just too kissable. She indulged in another. "If you don't mind."

"I suppose I've no excuse to say 'no,'" he replied. He was about ready to get dressed, himself. "Go ahead." He rolled over, climbing out of bed once more to find his clothes.

She hopped out of bed, smiling to herself as she went to find her swimsuit again. Since she wasn't wearing underwear as it was, she slipped on the bottoms without much thought, leaving the skirt where it was. She almost wondered if the addition of the panties would be _more _enticing. "Senpai?" She asked, holding out her top strings. And yeah, she could admit it this time, she just liked the feeling of his hands dressing her.

He pulled on his swim trunks as he turned to look at her. "Ah, of course." He wasn't going to get tired of this. He approached, taking the string once more, and taking his time to tie a very careful, very elegant bow.

She wet her lips, turning to smile her thank you. She turned back to the suitcase, digging through to find another frilly top she didn't recognize. "Senpai," she asked, turning, "What's this?" She held it up against her, looking at it this way and that.

He smiled. "Nothing special," he said. Although, he could quite clearly picture just how special it would look once she wore it. "I just wanted to see you in it. So I bought it."

She smirked, a quick mental image of Senpai trying to explain _that_ at the check out. Still, it was very kind and completely adorable that he had thought of her like that. Her cheeks tinged with a touch of color. "Thank you," she cocked her head slightly before pulling it over her head. "Does this look right?" She tugged on the ends, trying to straighten it.

"Stunning," he replied with a smile as he pulled a shirt on. Mercifully, he was out of ugly tropical-print shirts for the week.

She grinned in approval of his shirt, going back to uncover her phone. 50 new messages? Really? She paged through them, rolling her eyes as they became more and more worried. "Tamaki's all in a frenzy," she informed Senpai. "Oh, and it looks like he's been telling everyone that we're dead on the side of the road somewhere, because they're all worried, too." She grunted as she snapped the phone closed. Morons. All of them.

Well, Kyouya was certainly glad he'd set his phone to silent last night. He sighed wearily. "I suppose that means I've got to call him." What a perfect way to ruin a great morning.

Her brows knit together. "No, do you have to? Can't they just, you know, wait for a while? I could just text Tamaki...?" Talking to anyone on _this_ weekend, of all times, was a bit daunting. "We can tell them you got called out of town for business and we'll see them at school on Monday or something."

That was a very tempting idea... "They'll be bothering you all day, you understand."

She was already typing a message. "As long as they don't show up," she snorted. _That_ might make for an awkward hello.

"Don't tell them where you are," he said, a mock seriousness in his voice. "Under any circumstances."

She rolled her eyes. "I swear on my debt that I won't. Jeez, squealing kids are just what we need around here, don't you think?" The phone lit up again.

He let out a groan. He could barely stand them on a day that _wasn't_ set aside specifically for her. "How about you just turn off your phone and we let them worry for a while?"

She played with the thing for a minute more, standing up. "Okay, one second." She crossed the room to tip toe herself up to Kyouya's height. "Smile," she directed.

He offered her a little half smirk, just to humor her. He was never one for photography, but he'd gotten more than used to spontaneous cellphone shots by virtue of existing in the same space as Tamaki.

She smiled too, snapping the picture. "Thanks," she said, setting it to her background. "Now you'll always be able to see who's texting me, eh?" She held it up for him to see the result.

"That sounds like a wise strategy." He wondered if he should do the same for her, and if his phone was going to blow up like this every time they stepped out for the weekend.

She shut down the device, tossing it back into her bag without much though. She brightened a bit when she noticed the soup. "Hey, Senpai! When we get hungry, we should try that soup in a can I got!"

He snickered. It might be an interesting learning experience. "I suppose it's worth a try," he replied. "And _you_ haven't had breakfast yet."

"We don't have a chef, Senpai," she shifted, holding the soup. "And I haven't had the chance to do much cooking since..." since her life started. That was good. This was her _boyfriend_ she was talking to.

"You raise a very good point." One of these days, he would take a full staff down here so she could have a proper experience. For now, soup on a warm day sounded just fine.

She went back over to him, holding up the soup. "Well, as tradition dictates, in reference to certain activities we indulged in last night, I believe you need to carry me over the threshold."

"Is that how it works?" He swept her up. "I would hate to tarnish such a long held tradition." He rested his forehead against hers, looking into her deep, gorgeous eyes for just a moment, before continuing through the door.

She nuzzled into him, the feeling of his muscles working around her very soothing. Like, if something happened, she knew he could just grab her and run. Not that she wanted _that_ to happen... (unless it was to bed or something).

"So you've never had soup from a can before?"

"Not unless my cooks have been cheating me," he replied. "Do the preservatives affect the taste at all?" As if a normal person could answer such a question.

She stared at the can, as if it would reveal its preservative levels. "I don't know. Usually Mom would water down our soup, though. I think to make it last longer, but she always said to make it less salty."

He was never entirely sure what to say when she made comments about her past like that. For distraction, he peered over her shoulder at the instruction on the back of the can. "That does seem to be the recommended procedure."

She noticed his attention, slapping her hand over the can. "Senpai!" she protested, "What if I'd wanted to surprise you?"

He lifted his eyes. "Oh no. I've ruined the entire experience, haven't I?" He set her down. "Very well. I shall leave the cooking to you from now on."

She sniffed, taking his hand instead. "That's better. Hey wait;" She angled her eyes up to him to gauge his response, "Does this mean the great Kyouya Ootori doesn't know how to cook?"

"It's... never been a necessary skill for me," he replied. He hated admitting to ignorance. "Perhaps you should add that to my list."

She squeezed his hand. "That one I don't know if I would be able to instruct you in. I only know how to do the most basic things," she smiled, head full of memories. "Mom would let me sit on the counter every once in a while, and just watch her work. It was so interesting." She re-threaded her fingers to interlock with his.

"'Interesting,' huh?" he asked, rubbing at the back of her hand softly. "Then, perhaps you wouldn't mind if I watched you? Or, would that spoil the surprise?"

She rolled her eyes. "There won't be much to watch, but you can if you want," she nudged him. "I might even let you stir it if you're _really_ good."

He nudged her back. "An honor of the highest degree, I'm sure."

It occurred to him how oddly physical their relationship could be. Very out of character for himself. And yet-

He placed another kiss on her forehead.

They finally reached the kitchen, Haruhi's face still a bit red from his kiss, and all of her attention went to the beautiful, _huge_ room. "Senpai," she breathed. "This is incredible." She'd only ever really seen Dad's apartment's kitchen; and this was nothing like that.

He looked around. He didn't often visit the kitchen in either house, but this one seemed rather small compared to what he remembered. Still, he couldn't imagine what all of this space was used for even on a busy day.

"I suppose so."

She let go of him, feeling as if her awe was completely correct in this situation. It seemed to be a fully stocked kitchen, in terms of needing _any_ kind of utensil, or pan, or... whatever. She almost felt bad now about her saucepan and spoon. This kind of kitchen begged to be making fresh pasta, or something hoity-toity and French. "Can we really use this stuff?" she asked, pulling down the pan.

"Who else, if not us?" he asked as he inspected the row of pots hanging over the stove. He found one that seemed of appropriate size for her. "It does belong to my family, after all."

She shrugged. If he wanted her to trash this beautiful kitchen, who was she to say no? "May I have a soup spoon, please?" she asked, setting the pan down and cracking open the can. "Well, if anyone asks, _you_ cooked in here, not me. My name's not Ootori, after all." The mixture splattered into the pan, clump at a time.

"I'm sure you won't be arrested for your first offense," he replied, picking through a well organized set of utensils in the drawer. Soup spoon, soup spoon. This one looked like a soup spoon. He offered it to her.

It wasn't, but who was she to complain? "Thank you." She proceeded to add water, then settled down to wait as it came together. "Would you mind finding some bowls too, Senpai?" Her mind was whirling, and she was trying to ignore the image of she and Senpai married, maybe with one on the way, cooking together in their own house. She pushed it away.

He'd been hiding a similar fantasy. Of course, it was still far too early in their relationship to be thinking of such things. He intended to focus on his studies before any ties were made. "Here you are." He placed two fancy bowls on the counter beside her workstation.

She brushed his hand instead of a 'thank you', humming a bit as she tested, then began to serve the dish. The soup was not meant to be for the eyes, but for the stomach, making it look extremely out of place in the elegant bowls. "Alright," she declared mildly, "I believe we can taste it now."

He offered her a tasting spoon, before leaning forward to give it a taste for himself. It didn't really have much flavor, compared to what he was used to. But, he enjoyed it all the same. "Not bad."

She turned off the burner, suddenly deciding to live on the edge and hoisted herself up the counter, skirt flailing miserably. "Cheap food like this is best eaten in interesting places, don't you think?"

He smirked. "I do," he replied, pulling himself up right next to her. This felt like such a childish thing to do... It was actually quite pleasant.

She sipped at the soup, obviously in need of _some_ kind of nourishment after last night (and the night before, come to think of it), but too annoyed with her stomach in general to want to consume too much of it. She was mostly just thinking about how this counter could be one more place on the list of Weird Places Kyouya Takes Haruhi. How unsanitary. It was exhilarating. "How is it?"

"The best soup I've ever had." He was quite certain it was a completely psychological effect. First time Haruhi had made something for him. Inasmuch as heating the contents of a can was making something. But he wasn't going to let that stop him from enjoying it.

She smirked. "They say cooking for one's lover is quite romantic." She spread her hands a little. "Do I live up to the standards?"

"I would say so," he replied. "I may have to get rid of the rest of the kitchen staff."

She took a big bite of the mixture. "I dunno," she said from around it, "If I'm cooking all the time, I wouldn't have as much alone time with you." She swallowed, serenely looking up at him. "I don't know how I'd feel about that."

"You raise a very good point," he replied, between spoonfuls of soup. "I can't allow that."

She gave his thigh a little pat. "No you can't." She tipped the bowl back, drinking the broth greedily.

Well, when in Rome. He followed suit, downing the rest of his broth, as well. He reached over for a few of the kitchen towels, wiping his mouth with one and handing her the other.

Accepting it gratefully, she set down her dishes and hopped off the counter. "Well, do we have to do the dishes_ now_, or can we go to the beach?" She was ready for some sun.

"Let's not waste time with hat just yet." He dropped the dishes in the sink. "We're on vacation, after all."

She grinned happily, slipping her arm through his. "I like vacation." While she didn't _want_ to talk to anyone else today, she was beginning to get worried about what crazy stories Tamaki had come up with. Even after she'd told him they were fine. "Do you have your phone on you?" she asked, feeling as if they'd be _less_ interrupted with it than without.

"I don't make a habit of swimming with it," he replied. "Are you worried about them?"

She sighed. "Kind of. They do have a habit of overreacting, after all."

He sighed. "I suppose we ought to say _something_ before they send out a search team." He made his way back to his bedroom, scooping up his phone to glance over a few of the (no doubt ridiculous) messages.

Haruhi had waited for him, ending up on a short wander through the house. She uncovered a particularly girly room, smiling at the obvious _Fuyumi_ everywhere. A large beach hat hung on one bedpost, calling for her. Okay. That might have to join them on the beach. She retraced her steps there, finding her way back to the foyer.

Kyouya was still thumbing at his phone, sending out explanations and supplications to each of the frantic members of his club. He told them that he was an business trip, and that he'd talked to Haruhi just this morning, and everything was _fine,_ they were probably just annoying her.

They could be _so_ high maintenance sometimes.

Wrapping her arms around him from behind, Haruhi's hat bumped into his back, bending up. "Are they okay?" she asked, peeking around his side.

He glanced back at her, somewhat dismayed the fact that the brim of this new hat blocked his view of her face. Although, it was charming in a way. "They'll be fine," he replied, snapping his phone shut. "Perhaps they'll learn something from this."

She snorted. "But probably not." She reached up to touch her brim. "Do you like the hat? I just found it."

He reached over to tilt the brim up, just enough that he could see her face. "It's very fitting for the beach."

She liked it. She smiled up at him, content in her wardrobe now. "Yeah. I hope Fuyumi doesn't mind me borrowing it."

"I'm sure she would encourage it," he replied, flashing briefly back to the days where she would invite over half a dozen other girls and flit about the mansion, when he would never see her in the same outfit twice. She loved dress up almost as much as Tamaki.

"Well, shall we? I wouldn't want to waste our precious sunshine."

"Let's." He took her hand, politely opening the door for her.

Their little soup excursion had given the sun time to rise, and warm the sand and shallows. Though, he wasn't quite ready for swimming just yet.

The sand was pleasant, especially only half-warmed as it was. The top layer was a bit hard from the day before, but underneath still held the chill of the night. Whatever. It would all mix together as she dug into, anyway. "Where should we put our towels?"

He took her towel, and hung the both of them over the railing on the porch, to keep them out of the sand. "I don't think we'll be needing them for a while."

She shrugged, squeezing his hand lightly. "Alright. I'll let you lead, then." She thumbed up her hat. "So, have you been coming here your whole life?"

"Every couple of years, yes," he replied. "I haven't been out here much since Fuyumi's marriage. I'm glad to see that it's getting use."

She snorted. "We're certainly fulfilling _that_, at least. Your entire family would come here?" Even with such a big house, it was hard to imagine all of the Ootoris just... sitting around. Together.

"Certainly not," he replied. They could hardly stand each other in the brief moments their lives overlapped at home. And Father was far too busy to bother with beach vacations. "I seem to recall us all coming down here once, a very long time ago, but that's it."

That made sense. It was comforting, in a way, to know his childhood hadn't been a stellar one, either. "So now it's the perfect getaway." She leaned into him happily. A shadow passed over her face, suddenly remembering, "Hey, Senpai? I hate to bring this up... but I need The Pill sometime today."

"Ah. yes." He opened his phone once more. He supposed he should have thought to pack those. He arranged to have them brought up before the end of the day.

She grinned. "Thanks. I appreciate it." They'd been walking down the beach, getting closer to the shore. "I just wanna put my feet in, okay?"

"You don't have to ask permission." He slid out of his shoes, leaving them up where they could stay dry.

She pushed off the hat, dragging his hand along to run for the water. "You know," she said breathlessly, letting the water cool her toes gradually, "I lost the race yesterday." She pursed her lips. "It's not fair for you to skip punishing the loser." She let go of his hand, skipping a few steps away, crouching down to pick up a shell.

"And what sort of punishment would you say is appropriate?" he asked. He followed her, bending over her to put his arms around her as she picked through the sand.

She held up three large shells, laughing. "You could make me wear these." The wind blew a little, dancing her hair around into her eyes.

He snickered. "Lovely though that may be, that hardly seems fitting to the crime, does it?"

She shrugged, tossing them one by one back out into the water. "Well, as the winner, you'll have to decide." She grazed her hand along the water, spraying a light splash at him.

He held up a hand, as though he could catch the briny water before it hit his face. "I feel as though I should add that to your sentence." He knelt, sending up another splash of water in her directions.

She squealed, waving her arms in defense. "Hey!" she protested, "That's cold!"

He grinned at her. "You did say I was to choose a punishment, didn't you?" He splashed her again, before darting off along the shore line, beyond her line of fire.

She set off chasing him, kicking up great (or not so much) splashes whenever he was even slightly in range. "You can't avoid me forever!" she declared, deciding split-second that she was close enough to pounce on him. "Gotcha!"

The attack caught him off guard. Despite his best efforts, he failed to catch her. She was hardly strong enough to knock him over, but he humored her, and went toppling into the surf. "Ah, I've trained you too well."

She could tell she hadn't actually 'gotten' him, but liked the view, and decided to ignore it. She touched his chest, laughing when she realized they were both still wearing their outer clothes, too. "I think we forgot something, eh?" She scooted off of him, reaching down for the hem of the shirt. "We could fix that."

"Maybe," he replied. He reached up to help her with her own clothes, as nice as she may have looked with them clinging to her body the way they were.

Tossing the shirt up to the sand, she grinned, the look of him all wet and_ shirtless_. Running her fingers over his toned muscles, she asked, "So, are you glad you bought that shirt?" Her head nodded to the one he'd just removed from her.

"I think so," he replied. "Although, I must say, you look much better with it off."

She kicked the skirt off, too. "This too," she decided, tossing it aside as well.

"That too," he agreed. Regardless of what the twins said, he thought she looked fantastic in a swimsuit.

She grinned at him. "I like the beach," she mused, relaxing on the sand. "Senpai, what do normal people do on the beach?" She felt as if she would be content just laying here the rest of the day, though a few snuggles tossed in wouldn't hurt.

"Hm, I suppose they swim, or tan." He reached up to stroke her face. "Or they play volley ball. Some don't do anything at all."

She nuzzled into his hand, nosing for it not to leave. "Sounds wonderful. Is that what you like to do?"

"I suppose so, yes." To be honest, he would usually just go to the beach for a change of scenery, a background against which to study or plan. Having Haruhi here, suddenly 'normal' beach activities seemed pleasant, not like the waste of time he used to think of them as.

The water felt wonderful, washing up against her knees like that. She had the sudden mental image of Senpai holding her against him, out where she couldn't quite touch, and kissing her breathless. As it was, the sunshine was quite inviting, at least. "Well," she decided, "I'm up for anything."

He wasn't sure he was ready to move from this spot just yet. But, of course, one couldn't bore a lady. "Why don't we get a bit more practice in?"

"Alright," she agreed, admiring the calm sea, "The water does look pretty nice."

It was, indeed, much calmer today than it was the previous night. The waves still gently tugged at around their ankles. "Very much so."

She looked up at him, watching his unmoving form for a second. "You seem to want to swim quite a bit, Senpai," she sighed loudly, reclining against the wet sand happily. "If you make me wait much longer, you'll have to wake me up."

"I do apologize for keeping you up so late," he replied with a devilish grin. "But, what is the weekend without a bit of fun?" He sat up with a bit of a sigh. "Well, I can't have you falling asleep."

She smiled with the sun on her closed eyes. "I might be too cute that way; I've heard that watching your lover sleep can be very therapeutic."

"Oh, it is," he replied, recalling the many times he'd awoken before her and simply watched her face. Or the times she'd fallen asleep waiting for him to finish his work for the day, collapsed on the couch and looking so peaceful. 'Therapeutic' was a good word for it.

Her smile widened at the thought of his testing of that particular theory without her knowledge. She stretched, sitting up to pull her eyes open. "Well, I can't get you _too_ relaxed then, can I?" She ran a finger over his arm. "At least, not yet. Anyway, you have things to teach me."

"Yes, I suppose I do," he took her hand. "Although, you seem to be handling swimming quite well. I'm not sure there's much left for me to teach you."

Reaching up to kiss his chin, she shrugged. "Well, we're here. We might as well get a little wet."

"I'd say we've done a fairly good job of that so far." He brushed a bit of the sand off of his arm as the two of them descended into the deeper, bluer waters.

She snorted, submerging to her nose. It was actually starting to get a little hot out here. "Let's play Death Questions!" she suggested suddenly, pursing her lips and circling her arms to stay afloat.

"'Death Questions?'" he replied, reclining back to float beside her. "Intriguing. What might that be?"

She had no idea if people actually played it, but she'd overheard a couple engaging in it (and a few other things), in the courthouse when she was little. She'd always thought it sounded fun to have someone who knew you so well. "Well, you'd ask a question about yourself to me. If I don't get it right, that's one point for you, and whomever accumulates five points first," she drew a line over her throat, "loses."

An interesting learning experience, to say the least. "Alright then. Why don't you start?" Ask me."

She ducked under the water to wet her hair before starting. "Okay. What is my favorite food?"

"Eating isn't your favorite activity." He replied. "However, I do recall you quite enjoyed the ice cream the twins bought for you. Is that right?"

She didn't warm at the attention to detail; she had a game to win, after all. (Although, she did file it away closely for inspection tonight) "Yes. I would have also accepted ootoro. Senpai, that ice cream was really good. We should get some sometime."

"We should," he replied.

He thought about a question for her. "Which is my best subject?"

She rolled her eyes. "That's easy. You're an all A's student, but you enjoy the math-related classes most. Duh."

He chuckled. "I thought I might start with something easy," he replied. "I shall try not to repeat my mistake."

She lazed back into the water. "Try not to. What is the last book I read?"

"We've been going through my third year medical textbook together," he replied. "You've been perusing it on your own as of late, haven't you?"

He did have a very sharp memory. "Yes. Although I don't get very far on my own." She waved her hand through the water, sending a small current at him.

"Hm. Perhaps I should have brought it with us." Although, he doubted they would have much time for reading today. "I carry a ledger with me. What do I write in it?"

Her face immediately contorted in confusion. "Your book?" She'd never seen inside of it properly. "...Records. You keep the money accounts for the club in there." Right?

He gave her a little smirk. "That's a point for you," he replied.

Her mouth dropped open a bit, desperately trying to come up with the correct answer. "That's practically cheating," she sighed. "Fine." She floated nearer to him. "Do I like kisses or bites better?" A coy smile flitted across her lips.

Well, that one came out of nowhere. She seemed to kiss quite a bit more than bite... but perhaps she expected him to do the biting? He decided to tread cautiously. "It's a trick question." He replied. "You like both."

She sighed dramatically, holding up a finger. "Aha, but there is one I prefer. That's a point for you."

"May I ask what that preference might be?" he asked, setting aside the game for just a moment.

She lazily flipped around in the water, enjoying the cool waves. "I don't think it would be fair to just give that away, would it?" She shot him a knowing smile. "Anyway, wouldn't it be more fun to find out yourself?"

"You raise a valid point," he answered with a grin. "Very well. You may keep your secrets. Which of your cosplays is my favorite?"

"Let's see," she mused, counting on her fingers, "Recently we've done pirates, superheroes, Wonderland, traditional kimonos... although I remember you watching me quite closely with my pirate corset. So I'll have to do with that."

He reminisced briefly on that corset. It was a very nice outfit, though it hardly emphasized her best feature. He preferred something that showed up her legs a little. "You're very close, but I'll have to say no."

Her eyes flicked up curiously. "Well, I'd love to encore the one you're thinking of." She ran a hand over her wet hair. "If you don't mind it getting a bit dirty, that is. What's my favorite cosplay of yours?"

'Dirty,' eh? No, he wouldn't mind that one bit. But they could iron out the details later. "Hm. You seem a bit of a traditionalist," he pondered aloud. "Could it be the tuxedos?"

She shivered, the feeling of that rich fabric ghosting under her nerves. She'd forgotten about that one. She pulled herself closer to him. "I like your bad cop," she said bluntly, "but that one definitely takes a close second. I think that means it's two to two. Do you wanna just play to three for now?"

"That sounds fair," he replied. Still, he felt he deserved that one. But he wasn't going to argue. "What do I intend to major in in college?"

She frowned. He intended to take his father's company, she knew that. But they'd never really gotten the chance to discuss much further than that. "..Business." Was that too broad? He _was_ going to be a successful businessman, after all.

He chuckled. "Alright, I'll give you that one," he replied. He supposed he should have been more specific with his question. There might also have been a small part of him that wanted to let her win.

Her smile soft, she found his hand and twined hers through it. "I didn't use something something for about a decade. What was it?"

Well, that could have meant anything. He knew she was referring to her life as a slave. Slaves were denied multiple rights. Cars, kisses, proper nutrition. One thing in particular jumped out at him. "A bed?"

Another finger ticked up. A slightly sadder smile claimed her victory. "A name. I win."

He frowned. A Pyrrhic victory by any means. He tried not to dwell on it,. lest she do the same. "I suppose you do. Congratulations." He reached out to pull her close. "What sort of prize do you win?"

She wrapped her arms around his neck gently. "Say my name." One hand fingered the little hairs on his neck. "Please?"

"You don't need to win that right. Haruhi." He said her name very deliberately, slowly and breathy. He trailed a hand along her arm. "Not ever."

She leaned into him. His voice made her name sound regal, rich. "You like my name?"

"It's a beautiful name, Haruhi," he replied. But not as beautiful as it's owner. "It's perfect for you."

One finger traced along his spine, up and down. "I like your name too; Kyouya Ootori," she breathed his name reverently. "Kyouya." No matter how she said it, it still sounded cunning, intelligent. Just like him.

"Thank you, Haruhi," he replied. He lay his forehead against hers, his hand sliding from her arm to her hand, running his thumb along her fingers.

She laughed quietly in the proximity. "Did you ever expect to have a girlfriend who was so easy to please?" Her other hand had come up to stroke his jaw, leaving a trail of water in its wake.

"No, I suppose not," he replied, visions of bratty airheads chosen for breeding before compatibility he always expected to have. The thought of settling for that now was, well, almost unbearable. "Nor one so intelligent."

She sighed against him. His hugs were therapeutic. "Intelligent enough to get excited over her own name? I must make up for that somewhere, I hope."

"That's hardly a sign of unintelligence," he replied. Actually, he found it somewhat endearing. "You appreciate the smaller things. It's quite different in this world."

"Thank you. You make it quite easy with how you spoil me." She leaned to give him a quick kiss. "You know, I would never fault you for taking back what's yours. Until my debt's paid, I don't really _own_ anything."

"While you may be in my debt," He brought his arms up around her shoulders. "You are my lady before my slave."

She flushed, any admission on his part still completely breathtaking and a bit baffling. She wrapped her legs around his torso for balance, in a pseudo-hug. "Well, either way, you are entirely too good for me. Next you'll be giving me money!" She pet the scruff on his neck tenderly, brushing all she could reach gently.

"Maybe I will," he replied with a chuckle. "Of course I expect to be paid back. Perhaps I could set up an expense account." He tapped at her nose teasingly.

She chuckled. "That sounds like a lot more things I'd have to learn." What on earth was an expense account? "Though I'm sure you'd be just the right person to teach me." She leaned in a bit, hovering closer to his mouth, just in case.

"I am quite well versed in the area of finances," he replied, his lips tickling at hers as he spoke. He focused on her eyes, lids low in the warm sun. He pushed just a bit closer, their lips finally touching.

She leaned into the kiss, nibbling on his lips after a moment. Even though she'd asked that question about biting in reference to herself, she was quite curious to see properly what _his_ reaction was. Her arms slipped up to grasp his shoulders.

His lips curled into a grin between her lips. So, she liked biting then, did she? He pulled back, freeing his lips to return the gesture. Not to hard, just enough to spark a little reaction.

Biting tingled. She'd almost immediately made a tiny noise of satisfaction, which obviously gave away her preference. Even if she liked both. She licked along his lip before pulling away slightly, leaning her forehead to his and talking almost on his mouth, "You are quite well versed in plenty of other areas too, Kyouya Ootori."

Ah, there it was. He filed that fact away for a later use. "Or perhaps I'm just very good at improvising."

Their movement had sent a little spray of water onto her face. Licking the saltwater off her mouth before answering, "If _that_ was improvisation, I would _love_ to see how you preform things you know how to do." She wanted to kiss him again, already, but just let her mouth stay a few inches away.

"I learn more every day," he replied. He hoped he would be able to impress her, one day. She was, after all, very knowledgeable.

She was about to lean in, tease him with her breath, when she heard a distance voice carry to her. She turned to shore, trying to make out who would be yelling so loudly on a private beach. "Senpai," she squinted, "That's not... "

"That can't be Tamaki, can it?"

Slowly, like a corpse in rigor mortise, he pulled his arms away from her. He hoped not. He prayed not. He turned his head towards the beach, squinting his unassisted eyes in the direction of the new voice.

The call was clearer this time, a specific name bellowed out across the sand. Haruhi sighed, thinking how sexy her name had sounded not five minutes ago, and now it was like answering a death call. "Come on, Senpai," she said, taking his hand to lead him to the surf. "Looks like we're needed."

The owner of the voice was accompanied by a few others. Hikaru was paging through an article in one of the gossip rags, showing the pictures eagerly to his brother. The fact that his... (crush!) friend was with another of his friends (INSTEAD OF HIM), was back seat to the delicious shots of her body and expression. "Looks like _somebody's _gettin' busy~!" he sang.

"What are you on about?" He sloshed up onto the shore, squinting at the magazine in the twin's hand. Perhaps he should have kept his glasses on. "And just what are you doing here to begin with?"

Tamaki was red with fury. "Kyouya Ootori!" He snatched the magazine from Hikaru's snickering hands and waved it in front of Kyouya's face. "You besmirched her honor, didn't you?!" He noticed Haruhi's... attire, turning a deep color. "How can you even live with yourself?" He slipped off his summer vest to put around her shoulders.

Haruhi strained to see what he was talking about. She liked her honor. She thought it was fine.

Hikaru laughed. "Yeah, Kyouya-Senpai. You two seem to be quite... intimate, huh?"

Well, now that it was close enough that he could smell he dried ink, Kyouya could see _exactly _what they were talking about. He snatched the magazine out of his friend's hand. "Who the hell took these?"

Uh-oh. Haruhi hadn't heard his angry voice in a while. "Senpai?" she asked, tugging on his arm to pull the pictures into view. Her stomach dropped. The headline was blaringly loud, declaring, "Have the Ootori's Started Taking in Trash?" The second picture down had a grainy, zoomed in shot of her lower back, the brand just peeking out.

Hikaru gave Haruhi a thumbs up. "I told you you'd look irresistible in that suit, didn't I?"

Tamaki held out an arm for Haruhi to lean on, her face a bit white. "The paparazzi is everywhere, Kyouya," he said, his voice still angry, but not as loud. "You should know that."

He shoved the magazine back into the blonde's hands. "Thank you," he replied brusquely. Of course, he couldn't be upset at Tamaki for this. It wasn't his fault he had to keep this little affair secret.

"Well. This wasn't how I intended this debut to go. But I suppose you all know now."

Hikaru's mouth dropped open a bit. "Wait, that can't be right. The magazine's always get it wrong... right?"

Oohhhhh this was so bad. Ootori-San had no reason keep her around now. He would sell her, no matter what Kyouya said. It was going to be back to her old life, in the process of ruining the only person who had ever cared enough about her to even use her name. "Kyouya...?" she asked, her knees a bit weak.

He put an arm around Haruhi, pulling her close. "I'm telling you, because I expect you to help me defuse this situation, should it become a problem." He looked to Tamaki. Even if the rest of the club condemned them for this, he couldn't turn them away... could he?

She hugged the vest around her, shivering a bit. "I can... at least be hospitable, right? Let's go inside, Senpai. I'll make tea for everyone."

Tamaki blushed at the pictures, closing the magazine to the risque front cover. It was almost worse with this picture instead of the others.

"A good idea." Kyouya replied. He wasn't exactly comfortable with these guys seeing her so scantily clad, anyways. "Won't you come inside?" he asked, motioning towards the beach house.

Hikaru shrugged, going to put his arm across Haruhi's shoulders (no matter if Senpai's was there first or not), feeling her fragile little shoulder happily. "Sure. Ya know Kyouya, our Mom has a ton of sample clothes that would look _spectacular_ on Haruhi." He squeezed her, looking up to wink at Kyouya. "And there was an entire line of lingerie she's just got cluttering up some drawer."

Haruhi tensed. This whole thing was going to be awkward.

Kaoru gave his brother a harsh nudge. "Hikaru, now isn't the time," he whispered. He glanced at Haruhi. So, she _was_ a slave, then? He really hoped Kyouya explained all of this soon.

Kyouya grabbed his glasses and towel on his way into the house. He wasn't looking forward to this conversation.

Hikaru removed his arm, sulking a bit. Those two been keeping secrets, hadn't they? They could at least lighten up a little. Whatever. It wasn't like he was being bitter or anything. He could make any snarky comment he wanted and it wouldn't mean anything.

They reached the house, and Haruhi slipped off to find a cover up. "I'll be right back, Senpai," she murmured. "You all can go sit down if you want. Can I bring you a shirt or something?"

"I'll take care of it." He hadn't put his clothes away last night. His bag was still sitting on the parlor floor. He fished something out of it, sliding it on.

Kaoru shuffled his feet, cleared his throat. "So? Is this legit?" He motioned to the magazine in Tamaki's hands.

"Parts of it are, no doubt," he replied.

Haruhi changed quickly, slipping on a long shirt-dress she didn't recognize. She took a few deep breaths, trying not to panic.

Tamaki held out the magazine, not wanting to even touch it anymore. "The whole article is disgusting. You should probably read it, Kyouya." Although it kinda sounded like one of Renge's doujins in a few places.

He reached out for the magazine, giving the article a quick skim. Highly sensationalized, with far to much speculation to be considered credible. However. That didn't mean that the rumor wasn't a threat.

"It's not irreversible."

Haruhi turned on the tea kettle to warm up before slipping back into the parlor with the rest of them. The implication of anyone else finding out her past was making her itchy, and she almost felt as if she should go sit at Senpai's feet. It took all she had to curl up on the sectional next to him instead.

She cleared her throat, wondering if she should explain/if she _could _explain. Tamaki sent her a comforting smile.

Hikaru sat down next to his brother. "Alright, we're all here. What's going on?"

He tossed the magazine onto the coffee table with a sigh. Lacing his fingers in Haruhi's, he began. "While it's true that Haruhi used to be indentured. She is, however, no longer considered a slave."

Hikaru scratched at his forehead absently. "Not to sound mean, but how on earth did you even... meet... her, Kyouya-Senpai?"

Haruhi felt a bit hot. Was it hot in here? Maybe it was the heat outside. She wiggled in her seat, curling closer in on Kyouya.

He moved his hand from hers, instinctively putting it around her. He shifted. Being so intimate while people were watching... it didn't feel right. But he felt she needed it right now. "Happenstance," he replied. They didn't need the details.

"He rescued me," she offered quietly, brushing her drying fringe from her face.

Tamaki leaned forward. "And now you're recovering right, Haruhi?" he smiled at her.

Hikaru frowned. "Recovering from what? Senpai, she's _indentured_ to you? Is that why..." he motioned at the magazine.

"No," Kyouya replied with a very controlled temper. "She's working at the Host Club to repay her debt to me. As I said, she is no longer a slave."

"So, what's with..." Kaoru also motioned to the magazine. He couldn't really bring himself to say it.

"Who she chooses to pursue relationships with is her choice now," he replied.

Kaoru seemed skeptical, to say the least.

Hikaru's heart sank a bit. He scowled, leaning over to his brother to comment, "Stockholm Syndrome, anyone?"

Haruhi reached to pull the magazine up to her lap. The picture on the front was... nothing less than horrifically embarrassing. They'd never been intimate before this weekend, and already anyone could just go look to see any little kiss. It was awful. She read it over for a second. "Kyouya, this is worse than the fangirls." She turned worried eyes to his. "What is your father going to say?"

Kyouya rubbed at his forehead. "He won't be happy. But the situation isn't beyond salvage." He glanced at the magazine. "The image is grainy. The scar could easily be passed off as shopped. Sleazy gossip articles aren't above alterations to cause a scandal."

Hikaru rubbed his chin, putting his arm around Kaoru. "Actually, there's a very easy way to get around this. Which I'm sure precious _Senpai's_ already thought of, right?"

Haruhi frowned. "What are you talking about?" Why was he being so snippy?

"And what might _you_ be thinking of?" Kyouya asked, his voice low. If he even _thought_ about asking him to sell Haruhi, he was going to personally escort him off of this property.

Hikaru ran his fingers along Kaoru's neck teasingly. "She's got a tattoo. That's all you'd have to say, right? To make it legit, just get her a tattoo, Senpai. Then she could _prove_ she wasn't lying to the press."

Haruhi raised an eyebrow. That wasn't such a bad idea but... "Hikaru, I'm right here. You don't have to address my matters to Senpai."

He looked to Haruhi. "The idea has merit, if you're comfortable with it."

"Get something fashionable," Kaoru added.

Her fingers flexed nervously. A tattoo. It's not like the pain would be anything she hadn't done before. "If..." She paused. This might fix everything. The media would leave them alone then, at least for now. "Yes. I would do it." For Senpai.

Tamaki was a little taken aback. "My darling girl, with a permanent mark on her precious body?"

Kyouya wasn't going to bring up the fact that there was already one there. One which carried far more weight than a tattoo ever would. "Very well. I'll have arrangements made."

Hikaru leaned forward. "We'll all come, then. To support you, Haruhi."

Haruhi smiled faintly. "I appreciate it. Senpai, we need to do this as soon as possible."

"We could have it done before the end of the day," he replied. He stood to find his phone. He didn't much care for the rest of the club intruding on such a private affair... But he supposed that was the price he paid for his constant carelessness.

He would have to hunt down that publisher and assure that incidents like this didn't happen in the future.

Her stomach was flip-flopping a bit. The thought of going into the seedy underbelly of the city to have someone needle her was a bit dizzying. She really hated needles. And people touching her. "The sooner the better," she said, fingers reaching up to twirl her hair.

The kettle began to whistle. "Aha," Tamaki said, standing, "I'll get the tea, Haruhi." He winked at her as he left. The thought of Haruhi's willingness to undergo something like this made him a bit queasy, but then again anything regarding her past did. He wanted to help though, and this was the least he could do for his precious little girl!

Of course Kyouya had far better connections than that. He wasn't going to have any old amateur touching her with his, no doubt, hepatitis infected needles and spotty skills. The very thought of it made his skin itch. "Are you sure you're alright with this?"

He couldn't keep asking her to make decisions because of his needs.

She knew she couldn't take this lightly. No matter what, this was going to follow her forever, whether she liked it or not. It was something she couldn't just agree to without thought, but the more she thought the more sure of herself she became. Tamaki reentered, serving the dizzied lady a warm cup of tea. She warmed her hands gratefully, forgetting her earlier chill. "Yes. It's a good idea, Senpai. I can do this."

He sighed. "Very well." He stepped outside of the room to make the call.

* * *

><p>AN

AHH I'm so bad I'm sorry!

I won't make excuses, but I will apologize for the delay! Life and business and I'll haul butt to work on editing the next few.

Things:

Unforunately, this story is going to be coming to some kind of an end soon(ish). This story, as you may know, was a roleplay my roleplay partner and I did up until like, March. Since then we've been playing around with another (very similar!) muse, and I've been expanding my headcanons for Kyouya and Haruhi's married life in a much-closer-to-canon universe. I could post the other roleplay, if you guys are interested. I also might start a collection of Ootori family! one shots, since I have so many little muses for them.

Up to interested parties~

Anyway, if you're super bored or just want to bug me about updating, my tumblr is the place to message me. (Come on anon and capslock me to get the next chapter out!) It's hannan-bookey, though I've probably told you guys to come say hi before. : )

Snuggles!

Hannah


	30. AUTHORS NOTE

AUTHORS NOTE OF DISCONTINUATION

I still get the odd review on this story every once in a while, and I wanted to formally thank everyone who has enjoyed it so much! Alas, the bulk of these chapters were filled by a roleplay that ended abruptly last September, and I must finally admit it has no hopes of ever continuing. (Plus, it's hard to be so mean to Haruhi for so long! Not to mention Tamaki, the man whom we ripped apart from his lady (in canon), and didn't give nearly enough dues) I've moved on to other things, and I hope that if I ever take to publishing any of them on here, you lovely readers will get as much enjoyment out of them as you did out of this one.

My previous roleplay partner and I did, however, have some plans for this story before stopping it. If I can find it, I might post one last chapter, because I distinctly remember playing the tattoo scene. Afterwards, they continued to mature, and Haruhi's debt became more of a joke between them than anything, at least as time went on. (In this AU, Kyouya never expected her to pay back every penny, realistically) Haruhi moved to America to go to Ootori-funded Harvard, while Kyouya advanced in his own work in Japan, and the two went on with a (rather difficult) long-distance relationship. (We played a few little scenes of their college days, fueled by Simple Plan's song, 'Jet Lag') He asked her to marry him the night of her graduation, and they wed soon after. (They are not patient people, and have access to enough money that they do not have to fiddle with details themselves) Haruhi worked Pro-Bono for quite a while, taking on paying cases only when needed, and Kyouya took over his father's business, easily surpassing both of his brothers. They had three children, two boys and a baby girl. They family is very much outlined in one of my many Tumblr posts on the Ootoris.

Like I said, the chances of finding that last chapter are slim! All of the one-shots I've posted since this are on my Tumblr, (SuddenlyPants), or tagged as KyouHaru.

Much love to all, and thank you so much for the support!

xoxo


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